


The Spark She Holds

by Helthehatter



Category: Bumblebee - Fandom, Transformers
Genre: AU, Allspark, Apocalypse, Bumblebee (Movie 2018), F/M, Fighting, Fluff, Friendship, I'm gonna need to ask you guys to just...let it be ficcy, I'm sure stuff that happens in this fic can't happen in actual canon forgive me., Romance, Transformers - Freeform, War, charbee, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2019-11-16 07:14:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 34
Words: 79,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18089822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Helthehatter/pseuds/Helthehatter
Summary: Unbeknownst to the Autobots the Decepticons made quick work of Earth when the arrive. Destroying cities and causing humankind to flee to wherever they thought were safe.But Charlie Watson isn't a background character to be hidden underground. When she is given both a blessing and a curse she finds herself in the forefront of the Cybertronian War.But she finds comfort during the most dangerous time in history, comfort in the form of a mute yellow Autobot who starts to look like more than a friend.





	1. Chapter 1

 

The body was sprawled out among the rubble of destroyed buildings, smashed cars, and cracked road. It, of course, was larger than her, but didn’t look as massive as…the others. The metal body had been torn and beaten, shot and dented, what looked like the insides of her dad’s corvette pooled out of its abdomen like organs.

  
But she could still make out it’s face, red and metal plating that too closely resembled the face of a human. Something like claws had dragged across its face. It had something akin to horns atop its head, one had been broken, the sight had her smile bitterly.

  
_Horns…At least they aren’t subtle over the fact they were sent from Hell._

  
She knelt before its face and stared into its dead, blank eyes and tried to hold back a shudder of unease. Dead or alive she didn’t want to be anywhere near these…things. But this could be her only chance to see if these robots’ bodies could be of any use to her.

  
The thought had come to her as she knelt in her makeshift home, hiding under her bed as she heard the sounds of a fight. There had been voices, metallic and rough that left an oily tang in her mouth as she tried to figure out what the words had been saying. But these creatures spoke a mankind had never heard before. And even if they had spoken in perfect English she wouldn’t have been able to make anything out over the sound of thunderous gunfire, over the vibrations every time the mammoth metal bodies slammed against the ground of nearby building, over the scream that had cut short far too quickly.

  
She didn’t know how long she had stayed under the bed, trying to control her shaking, straining her ears against the eerie quiet of San Francisco.

  
But she had shaken off her fear the next morning, or at least, shaken enough off to come down to the wreckage of the brawl and see what she could scavenge.

  
Stepping closer to the robotic corpse her eyes instinctively went to the sky, it was gray and clear. For now. 

  
Often she wondered how long they had flown overhead, spying on humans, learning their weaknesses while disguised as jets and helicopters. And tried as humans might to defend their planet, it had been too late.

  
She had reluctantly taken her brother’s dog to the vet for a checkup, thinking about things that weren’t important anymore, like boys and work. On the way back home she had noticed an increased number of police patrolling the streets, a couple people glancing nervously up at the sky. A crowd had formed in front of the TV shop, watching whatever was on the dozens of television sets that sat on display.

  
She had slipped through the throng of bumping arms and confused faces until she was in front, her eyes widening when she saw what everyone was staring at.

  
A robot. A giant robot that looked to be made out of a jet, shooting at the tall buildings of New York, fire surrounding it as people-so small compared to the creature-running for their lives.

  
She was pushed out of the way as army tanks showed up on the screen, this time she stayed back, clutching her brother’s dog tightly in her arms.

  
“Is it some kind of movie?”

  
“It must be. A crazy trailer to get people’s attention.”

  
“It looks…really real.”

  
“It _can’t_ be real.”

  
As the crowd continued to voice their theories she turned on her heel, planning to head back home. She agreed that…whatever was on that screen, must be for some kind of movie or event. There wasn’t any giant robot in New York, there’s no way.

  
A sudden explosion had sent her to her knees as people cried out around her. She looked around and saw a thin trail of smoke-no, it wasn’t thin, it was far away…in San Francisco.

  
Before she could try to rationalize the sight a jet flew overhead, far too close, its engines nearly bursting her ears. And for half a second, she got the sense that a pair of malicious eyes had landed on her. But just as quick the feeling vanished along with the jet.

  
The rest she would never forget, of the army arriving into town and telling people they needed to evacuate, that there was a bunker that would keep them safe until this attack was handled. Who exactly was attacking they wouldn’t say, or didn’t know.  
By then masses were pouring out into the streets and she had slipped away into an old forest path, she didn’t have time to swim through the crowds to fetch her bike, but she knew a short cut through the trees. She could get home, the fear lodging itself into her throat…it would go away once she got home and got her mother and brother to safety (and her step father too, she guessed).  
There was a whirl of engines before the sound of rapid bullets fired through the air. Only halfway down the path she immediately jumped off the small path and ducked under bushes, thorn scrapping her skin as she wrapped herself around the frantically barking dog in her arms.

  
She heard the screams of the people from town and tried not to think about how she knew those people, they were neighbors and classmates and with every explosion she knew there was one less of them in the world.

  
It was hours before she moved again, her body aching, the dog reduced to tired and frightened whimpers, the explosions had stopped, and so did the screams.

  
She forced her stiff legs up and continued down the path, keeping her ears open for the sound of engines.

  
Her home had become nothing but a pile of rubble. She had dug through the debris until her hands bled, she hadn’t cried that hard since her father’s funeral. But all she had found was broken pictures and memorabilia she should’ve appreciated more. But there was no bodies and she took hope from that, her mother and brother could still be alive, she would find them.

  
The months after that led her to what was left of San Francisco, it wasn’t overly safe, but it was the only place where she could find supplies and a decent place to hide. And over those months she had met other survivors, some citizens, some soldiers who had been separated from his group, telling her of what they had learned. These robots were aliens, and that had successfully attack the entire planet. While some still believed there were armies figuring out how to stop the extraterrestrial enemies, most survivors had the eyes of people who had given up hope. 

  
She wasn’t one of them. She had built and secured a new home in the debris of the city and was working on building a radio and contacting new survivors, ones who were fighting, who hadn’t given up hope, ones who knew where her family was.  
And that’s why she was now going over the body of this dead robot, they were blood-thirsty, living machines, but they were still machines, and surely it had something for her radio.

  
But as she tried to make sense of what looked like a scene from a science fiction horror film, she lost focus on her surroundings…until the awful, awful, thrum of engines filled her ears and sent dread down her spine. It was close, too close!

  
She spun around in hysterical panic, her foot hitting a shard of broken cement that jutted out of the ground and sent her flying. She let out a hiss of pain as she stopped the fall with her hands, her skin scrapping against the cement and the metal bits of the dead robots. The bits-its flesh-digging into her skin. She lifted her hands, bloody and now full of shards of the robot’s alien metal.

  
The engine was getting closer.

  
Ignoring the stinging and throbbing of her hands and arms she jumped back to her feet and took off. A shadow fell over her and she tried to swallow the bile of fear that rose up her throat. Her home was too far, and even if it wasn’t she couldn’t let the robot see where she lived.  

  
As if her prayers had finally been answered she turned the corner and saw a massive pile of wreckage, what was left of collapsed buildings piled on top of…did they tear open a hole in the road?

  
She didn’t stop to ponder, instead dropping to her hands and knees and crawled through a human-sized opening of the debris, biting back a cry as her wounded, metal riddled hands pressed against the cracked concrete. The insides of the mess as dark and hot, nothing surprising. What was peculiar was how large it felt. She had expected to crawl into a small hole and hide there until the sound of engines left. But as her hands cautiously stretched out to feel for a shard of brick or anything similar, she felt nothing but air. She didn’t move any farther than a few feet away from the shaft of light that was the hole she had crawled through. A sickened, shivering part of her was fearful that there could be bodies in here, killed from the collateral damage of the robot fight. Or killed by the robots themselves.

  
As if the thought had summoned it the ground suddenly vibrated as something large landed outside, and the shaft of light vanished, leaving her in total darkness. For a moment her heart stopped and she tried to breathe, to suck in air for her lungs and courage for her heart. She slowly, oh so slowly, turned around and crouched, careful not to put pressure on her hands again. She peered through the hole, expecting to be bathed in the evil red light of a glaring, hungry eye. But instead she saw the edge of a large metal foot that could easily crush her bones into pudding.

  
The ground shook underneath her stomach once again, another robot, and she swallowed her breath, as if the second one had a better chance of sensing she was there.

  
The two robots were having a conversation, still in that strange language she had no hope of deciphering. But she could figure out the tone of their voices, she imagined they would sound highly amused if they knew she was there, ready to play like a cat with a mouse. But instead she caught the sounds of confusion and frustration, they couldn’t figure something out. Or maybe they _were_ looking for something. Just not her.

  
But what could they be looking for? The dead robot was in clear sight only a yard or so away. She recalled how one soldier she had come across had said they were looking for something, something that could completely destroy any hope of humans taking Earth back. But the man’s eyes had been wild and broken, and he stumbled away when she offered him a place for the night. She hadn’t taken his words at face value. Yet it wasn’t out of the question, even if the soldier had just made it up in what was left of his mind. These robots hadn’t been taking over any resources, they didn’t seem to need to eat or drink. Maybe they wanted oil? Maybe they wanted the land? Maybe they just wanted to destroy?

  
… _Or maybe there’s something on Earth that shouldn’t be here._

  
Dusk and minuscule chunks of brick and concrete showered down on on her as the wreckage above creaked. One of the robots was trying to move it. She curled herself into a ball, expecting to be buried alive or crushed. But a quick shout from outside brought the creaking to a halt. The other one was talking in annoyance, sounding like the angry rev of a the jet it could transform into.

  
They were looking for something. Maybe her but she had her doubts, whatever it was they didn’t want to risk the chance of it being destroyed as they tried to get to it.

  
Despite her fear she was filled with a ravenous sense of curiosity. What if they were looking for a weapon?

  
Fantasies of finding something strong enough to kill these monsters filled her mind with a vengeful-tasting euphoria. If she find it and get it to someone who would know what to do, if she found a soldier or a hide out of survivors… The thoughts distracted her as she moved to push herself up into a sitting position. The metallic bits of the slain robot dug even deeper into her skin as she pressed her palms against the ground. The sharp pain caught her by surprise and she sucked in an agonized breath.

  
Then a red glow fell over her skin.  

  
She looked up to see a crimson eye staring at her from the hole, she didn’t have to imagine the primal glee that shone from the socket.

  
But then it spoke…in a voice she could understand perfectly: “Hello there.”

  
The voice was as slick as oil but dug into her ears like rusted nails and she turned and bolted into the darkness just as claw-like fingers reached through the gap, grasping for her.

  
She hadn’t run far when the ground below her gave way and she was falling, tumbling down the hole they had built, that had been covered by the destruction yesterday’s battle caused. But all she could do was curl herself into a ball and endure the bumps and scraps that were caused by her dangerous tumble.

  
When she finally came to a stop at the bottom she counted her lucky stars and thanked whoever was listening that she was only sore, no broken bones and nothing as bad as her injured hands that she really needed to tend to. But she couldn’t even see the bloody appendages even if she held them right in front of her face. She strained to listen for any sounds, there was nothing but her shallow breathing that was becoming more and more quick as she tried to remain calm.

  
She needed to get out of here, get back to her home and tend to her wounds. Her life was more important that the off chance there was a weapon down here. Especially since these robots made this hole, if a weapon was down here they would’ve taken it long ago.

  
She lifted her head up, thinking she could see bits of light filtering through the cracks of the pile of demolition up above. She felt a sick twist in her gut, how could she climb up there with her hands like this, she was having trouble even moving her fingers.  
Standing up she pressed her shoulder against the wall of the hole, slowly, carefully, moving forward, trying to find an entrance. Trying to keep her mind off the thought that she was trapped.

  
The bottom of the hole wasn’t very large, it only took maybe thirty minutes to make her way around it three times. Each time she didn’t feel anything that could mean a way out. Maybe a foothold that wouldn’t require using her hands, another tunnel, anything! She couldn’t starve to death down here, she still needed to find her family, she still needed to win her home back.

  
On the fifth walk around she stopped at a spot she had noticed earlier. An opening in the hall, just by her feet, she had thought she had imagined it. Crouching she warily reached an uninjured knuckle out, expecting it to meet a hard surface, instead it met space. A tunnel?

  
Measuring the size she saw it was small, it would be a tight squeeze, and it could lead to a dead end. But it wasn’t like she had any other options.

  
Minding her hands she used her elbows to crawl into the tunnel. Almost immediately she felt an almost overwhelming sense of claustrophobia. The ground grazed her hips and head, it would just have to become only slightly smaller and it would trap her. But she had to bite down on that fear and keep forward, it was the only thing she could do.

  
She spent the new few, agonizing long minutes trying to keep her mind off how tight the space was, how it felt as if she was running out of air.

  
So she thought of her dad. If he were here, it wouldn’t be so bad. He would’ve found her so quickly and stayed with her, protecting her, making her laugh, giving her hope that it would get better. That she would feel happiness and safety again after such a long time feeling nothing but grief and fear.

  
But he had died long before the earth turned into rubble.

  
The tunnel opened up suddenly and she let out a breath of relief and stood up on shaking legs. It was still pitch black, how deep into the earth was she?

  
And what was that noise?

  
It was like a thrum of energy, deep, powerful, but not a threat. It felt important and she couldn’t stop her feet from stepping forward, in response the noise grew louder, as if whatever it was knew of her presence.

  
Despite the state her hands were in she couldn’t help lifting her arms up as she kept walking. She had the sense that whatever was in here, it wasn’t a robot…but maybe it was what they were looking for. So she needed to get it first.

  
Her hands made contact with something that wasn’t concrete or dirt, it was cool to the touch, impossibly smooth and flat to the touch, and thrummed in anticipation as if it had been waiting for her. Even though her fingers were stiff, she stretched them out and pressed her palms flat against the surface.

  
Immediately there was a burst of light, illuminating the small cavern and the object she was touching: a cube, a massive cube, even larger than the robots. The color lighting it up was beautiful shade of blue, electric and alive, making strange markings-like a language-across the cube’s surface. But she could barely pay attention because the moment her hands were splayed out against the cube a white hot burning sparked down her hands and arms and she let out a desperate and raw scream, but it was as if her hands were glued to the cube’s surface.

  
Through her pain she was somehow able to see the flecks of metal that had been stuck in her hand start to melt into her skin, the burning silver liquid slipping into the open cuts and her veins felt like lighting, felt like they would burst. It was as if their was an energy, a power source, that was too great for a human to withstand and any second it would destroy her…

  
But that didn’t happen.

  
Instead the cube dimmed until it left her in pitch blackness once again, her hands were released and she dropped to the ground with a shaking sob.

  
All was quiet, the cube had stopped thrumming. Scared she touched the palm of her hand with shaking fingers. She could feel the drying blood, but the wounds were closed up…the robot’s flesh inside her, running through her veins. The thought made bile rise in her throat but she forced it back.

  
Now was not the time to get sick. Her hands were healed, she could climb out of the hole and back to safety.

  
She hesitated at the small tunnel, wondering what to do with the cube. It was far too large to take it with her, and even if it wasn’t…she was terrified to touch it again. So with a small shake of her head she crawled back through the little tunnel and started her climb up the hole.

  
She didn’t get far when the broken buildings and totaled cars started falling around her.

  
_Can’t I catch one break?_ Was her angry and terrified thought as she pressed her body against the wall as much as she could, feeling the wind of debris falling past her, some coming so close to graze her back.

  
Light fell across her and she dared to look up, just in time to see a truck heading straight toward her face.

  
She just accepted her death when she was yanked skyward, the truck just a hair away from her face as it fell down into the darkness of the hole. Whatever had grabbed Charlie had lifted her up so fast she had gotten whiplash and it took her a moment to register what was holding her.

  
It was one of the jets, crouched next to what was left of the debris, its glowing red eyes scanning her as a small group of other robots moved the debris out of the way, one making its way down the hole.

  
“And what were you doing down there?” the one holding her asked, tightening its grip around her waist. It’s voice was the same one from earlier and it was so eerie and frightening to know and hear that they could speak her language.

  
The pressure on her ribs caused her to cry out and she pressed her hands against the robot’s knuckle, rubbing drying blood across its finger. It let out a noise akin to disgust and abruptly dropped her. She landed on, thankfully, a softer patch of ground and forced herself to jump up and start running, only glancing back once. She met the jet’s furious red eyes for just one moment and then she was turning into an alleyway, deeper into the city. Nothing gave chase.

 

.

 

She must have checked that she wasn’t being followed at least ten times before she finally made it to the place she now called home.

  
It was a skeleton of an apartment complex, she had an inkling it wasn’t already like this before the attacks. And while the doorways on the first floor had been blocked by rubble, a fire escape offered her a way to the second floor and to the room she called her own, the wall torn open so she had gotten a few tarps to make a makeshift wall. She moved the tarp away and was greeted by frantic barking.

  
“Hey, Conan.” She knelt down and gave the small dog a scratch behind her ears. Relief nearly made her bones melt, she used to not be able to stand her little brother’s dog. But after everything…she grew to appreciate the canine’s companionship. And she could just imagine the look on Otis’s face when they found him.

  
_When_ …

  
Conan was looking at her expectantly and she let out a guilty sigh. “I forgot to find some food, looks like its baked beans again.” She walked over to the apartment’s small kitchen where she had collected things over the time she had lived here, a fork, a spoon, a can opener, and a few cans of beans.

  
Swearing to go scavenging for food tomorrow Charlie opened a can and poured half into the cracked bowl she had found for Conan.

  
While the dog ate Charlie sat down next to her radio, she had found it and managed to fix it up, yet it still hadn’t worked.  
She lifted her hand to fiddle with it but halted, glancing at her hand for the first time since she had touched the cube. Her skin had splotches of red as if she had grabbed a handful of poison ivy, but her skin wasn’t aggravated in anyway and she was sure the red would fade soon. Running her fingers over her palm again she wondered if she could fill the bits of the robot’s metal inside her. But her skin felt fine, a little sore but not like she had touched something that burned like fire.

  
For the first time she finally let herself ponder over the day’s happenings. One of the biggest things was that these robots could speak English, and probably other languages as well. How did they learn that so easily? And what else did they know about humans? Enough to wipe them out incredibly easily…

  
Then there was the cube. It clearly wasn’t of this world. And it wasn’t far-fetched to believe the robots were looking for it, though she couldn’t imagine what it was for. She hoped that if they found it it would hurt them like it had hurt her.

  
Finally she reached out and, out of habit, turned on the radio. Her fingers buzzed when she touched the device and there was static…it was on! She let out a cry of delight that made Conan jump. She started to turn the knob frantically: “Hello! Hello! Is anyone there this is-”

  
Conan started barking frantically and with a drop of terror she heard the all too familiar sound of jets.  
They could hear her…they had access to radio towers… _Of course they did_!

  
Panicked and not knowing what else to do she lifted the radio and slamming it into the ground, shattering it to pieces. Holding back a cry of grief she grabbed Conan and crawled under her bed, pressing the dog against her chest and trying to silence him.

She heard the jets fly over her head, she wondered if it was the one who had grabbed her.

  
After a few horrifying minutes of hearing engines circle above her head they finally faded away…silence…the robot was gone. And so was any attempt in radioing for help.

  
Her grip relaxed on Conan and the dog licked her on the cheek before scuttling out from under the bed to finish his meal.

  
She laid there, limp, feeling tears crawl down her face. She took in a shuddering breath and closed her eyes, pretending her radio wasn’t destroyed, that she could still find her family, that the world wasn’t completely ruined: “My name is Charlie Watson…and I need help.”


	2. Chapter 2

 

“Be careful. This could be dangerous.”

  
B-127 felt a twisting in his circuitry at the words. He was currently in the small escape pod he had been occupying for what felt live a million solar cycles. His limbs were cramped, his brain module near fried with boredom, and his spark hurt with worry for Cliffjumper, his fellow scout, his friend.

  
The Autobot and Decepticon war had been raging for so long it had confusing and worrying when the Decepticons had just…left Cybertron.

  
Optimus had believed they were up to something, and it was the Autobots’ job to find out what. Not many complained when they had abandoned Cybertron, it was their home…but it was dying, and without the AllSpark…

  
B-127 shook his head of the thoughts, right now they needed to find Cliffjumper. He comm had gone off line awhile ago, far to long for anyone’s liking.

  
Wheeljack had suggested that his comm link had simply glitched and while B-127 wanted to believe that…he couldn’t shake off this dreadful feeling that his friend was in trouble. And he needed to find him.

  
The last comm link he sent was that he was getting incredibly close to the atmosphere of a planet the pod’s computer called Earth. Everyone guessed he had been pulled into the planet’s orbit and landed there. And with B-127 being the closest, he quickly volunteered to go find him. None of the other Autobots tried to stop him, they knew that Cliffjumper needed to be found and B-127 was a capable bot.

  
Still… There was worry edged in all their voices as they wished him luck right before he entered Earth’s orbit.

  
During the fall he let his pod’s computer send him information on the planet, on its geology and climates, and creatures. He focused mainly on the creatures, the ones called humans. Not everything he saw he liked, he took in information about their violence, their wars. These humans, as small as they were, were capable of great cruelty. But…he saw they were also capable of great kindness, helping each other, helping creatures less than them… They were more like Cybertronians than he thought-or cared-to realize.

  
So it was a fifty/fifty chance over how humans would react if he ran into any of them. Best stay in disguise, to be save. He wondered if Cliffjumper had done the same.

  
He was a smart scout, B-127’s senior who had always been willing to teach the younger bot everything he knew. The only Autobot he held in even higher esteem was Optimus, and it was natural for everyone to hold a Prime in the highest esteem. Optimus had been the one to bring B-127 to the Academy, seeing a potential in the young stary-eyed bot who wished for adventure and heroic deeds while others scoffed, stating he couldn’t do such things when he was so small.

  
But Optimus had believed him, and so did Cliffjumper, immediately starting up a friendship when the two had met at the Academy. They had graduated and became scouts under Optimus, positive that together they would help bring this war to an end, find the AllSpark, and fix their home.

  
And despite… _everything_ that came with a war, B-127 still held onto that hope. After all, the Decepticons were gone, sure Optimus still believed they were out there but if they, they’d fight them again. It’s what Autobots did.

  
But first he had to find Cliffjumper.

 

.

 

The landing on the Earth’s surface was less than graceful, and B-127 was sure he’d have to work out some dents after he found his friend. But first things first.

  
Sliding the hatch open he stepped out onto…rubble.

  
B-127’s faceplate shifted as he looked around. From what the computer told me Earth had plenty of cities, especially on this specific continent. But none of them had been completely demolished, everything leveled down, vehicles crushed, the roads torn to pieces as if something large had been digging for something.

  
He took a step forward, ready to investigate, when a sharp cry of shock had him whirl around-and B-127 saw his very first human.


	3. Chapter 3

 

The universe must have known today was Charlie’s birthday. (Keeping track of the days helped her feel better. When the world got back to normal people needed to know what day it was).

  
After leaving a disappointed Conan at her apartment she started on her trip to find some food, going the opposite way of where she found the dead robot and cube. And while all the nearby stores were ransacked ages ago by herself and traveling strangers, she came across a half buried basement.

  
Not expecting much she walked down and, to her delight, found bags of chips, canned beef stew, and even a 2 liter of soda. Her stomach gurgled in anticipation but she instead placed her findings in the shoulder bag she had brought along. Both her and Conan would celebrate her birthday together.

  
_My 18th birthday_ … The thought swam through her head as she crawled out of the basement and idly walked through the silent streets. Back before the world went to hell she had hoped to get the parts she needed for her Dad’s corvette as a birthday present. But that car had been destroyed along with her house, along with a lot of things, really. But Charlie could still daydream. Could picture herself fixing up her Dad’s car and driving it around town, even catching the eye of Tripp Summers. He would’ve been so impressed that she had fixed it up all by herself, and it would’ve driven Tina Lark and her cronies insane.

  
Maybe Tripp would’ve even given Charlie her first kiss that day.

  
She was so lost in thought, hiding herself in her fantasies, that she hadn’t watched the skies-and nearly walked right into the path of a meteor.

  
The impact send her on her back, knocking her breath out of her lungs. She stayed completely still, praying she hadn’t injured her back like she had injured her hands, and watched the dust settle.

  
It revealed what she had thought had been a meteor, but actually looked like a circular space ship, something out of the old sci-fi films Otis had been obsessed with. But this one was damaged and…opening…

  
Dread, thick and as hard and as cold as a ball of ice lodged into her throat and Charlie could scarcely breathe.

  
A body of yellow metal that glistened like the sun stood up in the remains of the pod. This robot was smaller than the others, it looked like he had metal antennas were poking out of its head as it looked around the wasteland that was once San Francisco.

  
And then it turned around and saw her.

  
Blue eyes. That was the first thing that caught her attention, two blue orbs that were nothing like the red glares of the others, large and innocent looking. A trick she was sure. And if she didn’t know any better the robot looked more curious than threatening.

  
It took a step forward, reaching out a hand toward her. Charlie felt the bruises the jet had left across her ribs and she let out a scream, the robot jerking back several feet as if she was the terrifying one.

  
Then, as if her cry had been an alarm, she heard the familiar engines…

 

.

 

The human suddenly jumped to its feet and bolted underneath a vehicle that was in _horrid_ shape. B-127 made to call out, to apologize for frightening it (though that shriek had been pretty startling for him). But before he could make a sound a shadow fell over him.

  
He lifted his chin up and saw a familiar pair of red and white wings before the jet transformed and landed in one smooth motion on a toppled roof a few yards away.

  
He couldn’t believe his optics. “…Blitzwing.” _A Decepticon…on this planet_.

  
“B-127,” the harsh, baritone voice sliced against his audio receptors.

  
“Did you do this?” the Autobot indicated to the city that had basically become a graveyard, keenly aware of the human still hiding a few feet away. He held back a shudder at the thought-no, the fact-that skeletons of her kind lay scattered around them buried.  
 Blitzwing slowly blinked, his optics dim with apathy, “It’s not like they wouldn’t have done it to themselves, eventually. These are a violent species B-127, it would be impressive if they weren’t so pathetic.”

  
He wasn’t surprised by the Decepticon’s words, he seen this con tear apart other Cybertronians, he wouldn’t think twice in murdering innocent organics.

  
“What are you doing here? What could the Decepticons gain from destroying this planet. What would _Starscream_ have to gain?”  
Blitzwing’s face twisted into a sneer, he was one of many Decepticons who didn’t hold any love for Megatron’s replacement. But they were loyal and let Starscream decide their course of action. First the bot had abandoned Cybertron even thought he cared more about reviving and ruling their home planet than Megatron, and now he came to Earth, a planet covered in water and dirt, nothing like Cybertron… This didn’t sound like the arrogant but dangerous Decepticon B-127 had been warned of.

  
“That’s none of your concern, Autobot,” Blitzwing spoke up. “What is your concern is that you aren’t the first Autobot to arrive on Earth.”

  
B-127’s antennae lifted in astonishment. _Cliffjumper_! “Where is he?”

  
To his surprise Blitzwing lifted an arm and pointed to his left, “He’s over there.” He moved his hand a little more to the right, “And over there.” He moved his hand to the far left, “And maybe a little over there.”

  
He looked back to B-127, his red glare glittering with humored malice. “He put up a fight, I’ll give him that. And I do appreciate the entertainment he provided, the fun of slowly tearing his limbs off.”

  
B-127 dropped his head plate into place, his blasters thrumming with the promise of avenging Cliffjumper.  
Just what Blitzwing was hoping for he got his own weapons ready, his face lighting up with excitement.

  
_Keep the fight away from the human_. He hoped it had left by now.

  
B-127 charged at him, but with Blitzwing’s jets he was faster. Tackling into B-127 the two rolled across the destroyed cement. The con grabbed his neck in a vice-like grip, dragging him across the ground, the scrape of his plating, B-127 quickly slamming his blaster into Blitzwing side. The shot sent him flying, but with his hand still wrapped firmly around B-127’s neck and the bot went right after him. But Blitzwing lost his grip as they hit the ground and jumped back, kicking the Con in the face for good measure.

  
Blitzwing’s metallic chuckle rang out as he struggled to his feet, not seeming to mind the smoking black hole on his side. “That felt very personal, Autobot. Are you upset?”

  
“Try to have fun, Blitzwing,” B-127 growled, “That’ll distract you long enough for me to rip the spark out of your chest.”

 

.

 

_Run, run, run!_

  
The words chanted in Charlie’s head like a mantra as she laid huddled under the van, eyes glued to the two battling robots. Her heart beat so hard against her chest she was sure it would leave a bruise, her palms damp with sweat. 

  
But despite the fear tuning her blood icy, and the adrenaline that was about to burst her chest open, she didn’t move.

  
The robots were talking with each other, the strange language heavy with something Charlie understood all too well: Hatred.   
And it was clear they were fighting to the death, not that she had originally thought they were capable of playfully roughhousing. But still... She figured they were like a pack, that they killed the weakest members which is what had happened to the red robot from yesterday. Right?

  
But this yellow one, despite its size, was far from weak. It was holding its own fairly well. It would’ve been useful in making sure mankind stayed down. So why…

  
There was a loud thump as the jet pinned its yellow bot down, its hand pressing against the other one’s throat. Charlie wondered if they could feel pain. The jet had a canon on its arm and didn’t waste time point it right at its enemy’s head.

  
She covered her mouth to muffle a gasp. She didn’t know if she was ready to see such brutal carnage. But at the last second the smaller robot whipped out a blade from its wrist and stabbed the hand that was crushing its throat, at the same time it used its other hand to push the canon away a _second_ before it fired.

  
The blast went straight to Charlie’s van and sent it flying, she covered her head with her hands and couldn’t help a cry of terror as she felt hot air burn against her skin. She was afraid the heat would boil the skin off her bones but after a horrifying second the air cooled again.

  
And then she heard the silence.

  
Removing her hands and lifting her head her eyes widened when she saw both bots were now staring at her, the jet still pinning the small one down. She took notice of their expressions immediately, blue eyes staring at her with dismay, red eyes glaring at her with the look of a hungry jungle cat. Charlie didn’t have to wonder what that meant.

  
The jet muttered something to the other bot and then lunged for her. Charlie made to move, even though she knew it was futile, but just as claws reached out to her the red and white robot was slammed into the ground. The yellow robot’s wrapped its legs around the jet’s torso as it immediately stuck up and tried to tear it off its back. Charlie scrambled back, away from the stomping feet, her eyes on the yellow bot as it lifted the blade on its wrist and with one impossibly quick motion-stabbed the jet directly into its chest.

  
Charlie didn’t fully process the fact these things were alive until she heard it scream. I mean, they were obviously sentient, but she imagined they were still soulless machines, programmed to destroy, maybe sent by an evil version of E.T.

  
But that scream, filled with agony and the desperate fear that one must feel when life is slipping out of your fingers. Only something living, something with a soul, could make that sound. And this jet wasn’t going out quietly.

  
Charlie watched, practically transfixed, as the jet used the last of its strength to grab the yellow robot’s arm and throw him into the ground. With a small, sharp weapon that remidned her of a dentist office from her nightmares, it plunged the spear into the yellow robot’s throat. There was a gargled noise as something was ripped out of the robot’s neck, Charlie fought back a wave of nausea.

  
For one moment the jet stood, swaying, crushing whatever it had pulled out in its hand, a hole sliced through its chest. Charlie thought she saw the faintest blue light glowing from the dark depth. Then the jet collapsed to the ground, and its eyes went dark.  
Breathing harder than was probably healthy Charlie looked toward the yellow bot as it tried to rise to its legs. It looked to be shaking with exhaustion, its body beat up from the vicious fight. It looked at Charlie again, it seemed to do that every chance it got…and every time there was no sort of malice in those blue eyes.

  
The shared contact was short-lived, the robot falling forward apparently having fainted.

  
One was dead and the other was passed out. This was her chance to escape!

  
_RUN!_

  
And Charlie really meant to, she turned on her heel, envisioned her root back to Conan where the two could hole up and eat chips until it felt safe to go outside again.

  
But it would never feel safe again. Not like this, not with giant metal predators that could somehow hide around every corner. It wasn’t safe until they were all gone, and from what she just witnessed the only ones who stood a chance against these were their fellow kind.

  
She slowly turned to look at the small one again, she could have been hallucinating but…she was sure this one had saved her. She would’ve been snatched if it hadn’t been for it.

  
She glanced at the jet’s body. She hadn’t imagined the animosity between the two. If humans fought other humans, then odds were these robots fought other robots. And maybe this small-but dangerous-yellow robot could become an ally, or at least give her some information on what to do about this giant robot apocalypse no one had been prepared for.

  
Charlie sucked in a breath and took a step toward the robot, “I must be out of my mind.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just had to manually put spaces in this chapter's paragraphs and will have to keep doing it if I can't figure out why AO3 didn't save the spaces from the orginial draft-please be grateful.

 

 

B-127’s brain module was dark with exhaustion, his limbs thick with pain. He needed to move, he needed to stand up and get back to his pod and tell Optimus and the other Autobots what he had found out.

The Decepticons.

They had done something horrible, because the Autobots had failed to track them down and stop them.

It was then he felt something small and soft brush against his head-a moment before a jolt of strange but unfamiliar energy ripped through his wires, bursting the inside of his head with blue light. The unexpected explosion of adrenaline had B-127’s head shoot up, optics wide.

The human jumped back, its hand pulling back to its chest, expression fearful. B-127 blinked several times, clearing his fuzzy vision. His limbs shook from the after effects of…whatever that was. He narrowed his optics at the human who looked ready to bolt. Did it do that?

No, that was crazy.

“Hey,” the human suddenly spoke, voice cracking.

He tilted his head to the side, its voice was soft, and along with its curves he was reminded of femmebots like Arcee. This human must be female.

_And its trying to be nice say something you slaghead!_

B-127 made to return the greeting and introduce himself, he’d make it very clear he was a friend-not foe. But only a faint buzz came out of his throat. His throat that felt alarmingly empty.

_Oh_ … That’s right. In Blitzwing’s last throes of life he had tore out B-127’s vocal cord. He glanced over at the dead Con, what was left of the cord lay crushed in his palm. There was no salvaging that, until he could find a new one he was mute.

The girl followed his gaze, swallowing before she spoke, “I-uh-I take it that wasn’t your friend?” She laughed nervously.

He shook his head, hatred burning in his spark. _He killed Cliffjumper_. He needed to find his friend, he needed to figure out all that had happened. But he needed help to do it.

He stood up on wobbling legs, the human taking several steps back. He gave her a look he imagined as pathetic, he didn’t know how to explain that he would never hurt her. But that puzzle would have to wait, he needed to contact Optimus Prime.

He turned and headed to the pod, checking his comm link as he went. He felt a wave of dread when all he heard was static, even if he hadn’t lost his voice his comm had been damaged in the fight. So instead he knelt in front of the pod, finally getting a chance to see how it handle the crash landing. All the while he was acutely aware of the girl behind him, very cautiously stepping closer.

“You’re-” she hesitated, as if it was hard to get the words out. “You’re not leaving, are you?”

The unexpected question had him turning to look at her over his shoulder. She was looking at the ground, he found it fascinating that her optics were brown, an unseen color in any Cybertronian’s eyes. She was clutching her hands together, running her thumbs together as she rocked back on her heels. Everything about her was the definition of nervousness. She was still scared of him.

When she looked up at him he knew it took an effort. “It’s just-you’re not like _those_ , right?” She indicated to where Blitzwing laid, empty eyes staring up at the sky. “And you saved me on _purpose_ , right?”

He nodded, remembering the spike of fear he had felt when Blitzwing had spotted the human.

“ _Soundwave would be grateful if I brought Ravage a new toy_ ,” he had said.

“There are more of these robots, you know,” she went on, her voice growing with confidence as she continued. “All over the world, and they need to be stopped… Will you stop them?”

B-127’s spark went out to the human, she was looking at him so beseechingly, like he was her only hope. But how could he explain he needed to go and get the other Autobots first? If he couldn’t speak how could he promise here that he would be back.

In his hesitation the girl’s eyes darkened, “It’s a yes or no question.”

She hadn’t realized yet that he couldn’t talk. He touched his neck, then pointed to Blitzwing’s hand where his vocal cord laid scattered. She looked to his throat then to Blitzwing, her gaze calculating.

“Can…you not talk?”He shook his heat, feeling a twinge of shame. He wasn’t the hero she needed, he wished Optimus had come in his place. He would’ve taken Blitzwing out with no problem, and he would’ve kept his voice when he did so. He would’ve been able to assure this poor girl.

The air suddenly thrummed and the two looked up to the sky in unison. It was clear, for now, but the noise was getting louder and he knew _exactly_ what it was.

So did she, “There’s more coming.”

B-127 looked at his pod. He didn’t have time to hide it, and if he tried to fly it back up into space…the seekers loved a little target practice. Besides, he needed to get this girl to safety.

Quickly he transformed into his Cybertronian vehicle. In a better situation he would’ve scanned an Earth vehicle, but all the vehicles around them were ruined and its not like the humans didn’t know giant robots from space were a very real thing.

He opened his door, expecting the girl to jump in. But instead she simply said, “No thanks.” And bolted.

_Are you crazy?!_ B-127 screamed in his head as he followed her, glad he was small enough to drive through the cramped streets she was taking. B-127 was considered one of the fastest Autobots on Cybertron, and having to go slow enough to not leave the girl behind hurt more than his fight with Blitzwing.

She didn’t trust him, obviously. But he had thought-or maybe hoped-that saving her and their ‘conversation’ would’ve helped warm her up to him. But at least she knew the best routes, the sound of whoever had been flying toward them could no longer be heard. Wherever they were going, no Decepticon was following.

But eventually the girl came to a halt in an empty street and B-127 parked next to her. She had her hands on her knees and was taking gulping breathes. Clearly humans didn’t have the kind of endurance he did. The thought reminded him of how he had laid practically immobile after his fight with Blitzwing before he felt that rush of energy. He would’ve liked to have asked the human about it if he could speak.

When she straightened he opened his door again, hoping that this time she’d accept the ride.

“I’m fine, we’re almost there,” she replied, walking onward.

_Almost where?_ He wondered as he slowly followed. For a second he wondered if this was a trap, if she didn’t believe he was good and had a pack of humans ready to ambush him. But he pushed the thought away. _The enemy of my enemy is my friend._

After a few minutes of silent, awkward, walking he found out that ‘there’ was what was left of a building. “This is where I live. Well, where I started to live after everything went to hell,” she explained as she took a set of black metal stairs up to the second floor. B-127 transformed back to his bot form, at his full height his head could just reach the room she vanished into, covered by tarps.

He pulled the tarp back, curious to see what a human room looked like, only to be welcomed by a furious, high-pitched barking. B-127 took a step back when he saw something small brown and hairy yapping madly at him.

“Conan! Don’t!” The girl picked up the creature known as Conan and held it to her chest. “You just startled him that’s all.”

B-127 took in her frightened expression and realized she was worried for the creature that was screaming at him. She thought he was going to hurt it.

This is a chance to show her you’re a good bot! With slow, deliberate steps he walked forward. The girl looked nervous but she didn’t move from where she stood, the Conan

growling in her arms. He had to remind themselves that neither of them had seen the good his kind could do. They weren’t just villains or conquerors. An image of Optimus Prime flashed in his mind-they were heroes. A vision of Cliffjumper followed-they were friends. B-127 could think of hundreds of other Autobots who would do a better job at being the protector of Earth, of this girl. But until he could reach Optimus and the others, he would have to do.

The Conan’s small head was soft to the touch and it stiffened when B-127’s finger rested lightly on top of it. The girl had stiffened too, both silent. Not knowing what else to do B-127 stayed still and quiet too. And after an agonizing long second of not moving or speaking, the girl’s shoulders sagged in relief. Encouraged by her relaxation B-127 flexed his finger, trying to scratch the little Conan’s head, he had seen from the pod that many creatures on Earth were covered in something called hair. It looked itchy.

The Conan wagged its tail at the scratch and the human pulled her lips up in a small smile.

_Oh_. Human smiles were as nice as Autobot smiles.

She placed the Conan down and it trotted off to lie on the girl’s bed. Then she looked up at him, she still had a look of weariness to her, but she looked more open then before.

“We, uh, never introduced ourselves.” She offered her arm, then her cheeks turned read, her eyes sparking with embarrassment. “Sorry you probably don’t even know what handshakes are and even if you did my hand’s too small-”

B-127 reached out and tucked his fingers under her palm. She was smooth and soft and much warmer than he thought she would be. She stared at his hand, her expression unreadable and a strange sense of anxiety plucked at his spark and he wished he could ask her what she thought of his hand.

Finally she cleared her throat, “I’m Charlie. Charlie Watson. I just turned eighteen and uh…I guess I’m an expert survivor since I’m not dead yet.” She nodded to the now sleeping the Conan. “You already met Conan. He’s a dog. He was my…brother’s dog.”

A sadness darkened her eyes but just as quickly as it appeared it was gone. “Is there anyway you can tell me your name?"

His optics narrowed. He had no idea. He could try to find a way to spell it for here but he highly doubted she would understand his alphabet. He let out a hum of frustration and the girl-Charlie’s-brows lifted.

“You sound like a bumblebee.”

He had no idea what that was but it sounded like a compliment. He hummed again and that brought her smile back.

“If its okay with you. I think I’ll call you Bumblebee.”

 

.

 

Starscream stood over Blitzwing’s body, his expression nothing but apathy. He never personally cared for Blitzwing anymore than Blitzwing cared for anyone.

But despite how absolutely infuriating he could be, he knew it wasn’t a Decepticon that had snuffed out his spark. And he knew it wasn’t a Decepticon’s pod that Soundwave and Thundercracker were now observing.

Another Autobot. And here he had hoped Cliffjumper had been a fluke. If this new Autobot had already commed its friends…

He glanced over at Soundwave. If it wasn’t for that irritating con he’d be convincing the others its time to go. There was nothing this dirty wet planet could offer him. But until they found what they were looking for Soundwave and the others wouldn’t leave this planet.

Starscream turned on his heel, “Destroy the pod. We’ve got some hunting to do."

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

Before her dad died Charlie had imagined what her future would look like. She’d be buried in diving trophies, maybe compete in the Olympics, and when she was ready to retire she’d meet the perfect guy, buy a house then have a couple of kids. Through that entire life plan her family was always nearby.

Then her father was gone and she didn’t think about the future that much anymore. When she did it felt like a gray fog covered her mind, telling her that no matter where she took her life, she’d never be really happy. And then the world turned to ruin and her mother and brother were no where to be found. She’d figure this would want to make her think of the future even less, but she was wrong.

This was how ordinary people like herself went down in history books. She had actually humored the possibility of being a hero, of being someone who stood out as a beacon of hope for the survivors. Charlie hadn’t thought of what she would do, maybe figure out the invaders weakness since she was seeing them so often.

Maybe she could have found some pieces of paper and start writing those new history books, she had kept up with the date this far. 

But now she could see the name Charlie Watson up there with Benedict Arnold, Brutus, and maybe even Judas depending on how mad future scholars would be.

 _Traitor_. That’s what she will be known for.

She held the hand of one of those creatures, even if he hadn’t been the one to set her home ablaze that’s not how the rest of the world would see it. If other people found out they wouldn’t see a girl trying to fight back, they’d see a girl who’d rather beg at their enemy’s feet then die a noble death.

 _Even though I don’t think he’d lay a finger on me. At least not violently_.

It had felt so foreign when he had pressed his fingers against her flesh, they had felt smooth, cool yet burning with an inner heat like an engine that hadn’t cooled completely down yet. And for a moment Charlie had wondered what he had thought of how her skin felt, but she wouldn’t have asked him.

She was calling the robot a him now… The word had entered her train of thought not long after she had dubbed him Bumblebee.

She could almost laugh at how absurd the entire scenario had been. She had watched him take down a robot much larger than him, that had a wickedly sharp blade that could slice her to ribbons-and she had let him to her hide out. Not only that she had also let him pet Conan, touch her, and then had given him an absolutely ridiculous name.

Her life was only getting weirder and weirder.

Charlie turned onto her side, the mattress creaking underneath her. Conan shuffled a bit from where he lay at her feet but a few seconds later and he was back to snoring.

Bumblebee-the robot-was down below. As a car he was resting underneath her room. Or maybe he was keeping watch? She didn’t know if these things needed sleep. They apparently didn’t need food or water.

As nice as he seemed Charlie couldn’t relax enough to sleep. He was too similar to the bad ones, her bones still buzzed with caution. But she still wanted to put her trust in him, to believe he could help her. But he was so small. That helped her not be less intimated, but how could he possibly get rid of the others that were larger than him were spread across the world?

She covered her head with her pillow and tried to push her raging thoughts away, if just for a few hours of sleep.

.

  
When the first rays of dawn warmed his hood Bumblebee (the more he repeated the name in his head the more he liked it) transformed. Careful to be quiet he glanced into Charlie’s apartment, she was asleep. The Conan lifted his head to glance at the robot before laying his head back down and going back to sleep.

He felt an unexpected warm glow at the sight, these two were innocent, good creatures. They weren’t like the Cybertronians, or even other humans of history. They didn’t deserve what had happened to them.

_I got to get a comm to Optimus._

He slipped away from the building and retraced his steps back to where they had to leave his pod, keeping his optics and audio receptors open for any luring decepticons. But thankfully the world was quiet.

Not so thankfully he didn’t see much of his pod when he reached his landing spots, only bits of it scattered across the clearing, the bigger pieces charred black. He wasn’t surprised the Decepticons had left nothing salvageable but he still felt a crushing sense of dread. How was he going to get in contact with any of the Autobots now?

_Lack of communication was why Cliffjumper was dead._

A fresh wave of grief made his joints stiffen. He needed to find his friend, or what was left of him. Cliffjumper deserved more than rusting away in a foreign planet.

And he’d expect Bumblebee to not follow his lead.

With one last look around he transformed into vehicle mode and made his way back to Charlie and Conan. The two were awake and he could have sworn he saw a hint of relief when she saw him arrive.

“I,uh-” she began awkwardly. “I didn’t know if you were coming back.”

His optics crinkled as he tried to smile without a mouth. Leaned forward to take another look around her room. It was nearly as bare as his old bunk back on Cybertron.

Bumblebee couldn’t remember the last time he had laid in that room for a stasis nap.

He kept his gaze moving, Charlie momentarily turn around to fetch a can for the Conan. It was when her back was turned that he noticed something near her bed. It was a flimsy

piece of material with a picture of two humans on it. One looked like a smaller Charlie, smiling, the other was a taller human-maybe a male?

He carefully reached his hand out, wanting a closer look at the picture (it reminded him of holographs back at home), but Charlie suddenly let out a yelp, startling him. He drew back as she rushed forward and snatched the picture up, hugging it tightly to her chest.

“Don’t touch this!” she snapped, voice loud and burning with anger.

He took a step back, confusion and guilt making him tense. But to his relief a moment later Charlie’s shoulders relaxed and her expression lost its snarl.

“Sorry,” the mumbled quietly, sounding as if the word was hard to get out of her throat. “This picture…it’s important to me.”

Why? He wanted to ask. But instead he leaned forward again, head lowered but optics wide with interest, hoping that would help convey his curiosity.

However Charlie’s eyes were all for the picture in her hands, her brown optics glistening wetly. Wait…wetly? Was she leaking? Did humans leak?!

She wiped at her face and took a deep breath, “This is my dad. And it’s…it’s the only picture I have left-” She cut herself off and gave her head a slight shake. “Nevermind. Not important.”

She put the picture away and turned on her heel, clapping her hands together as she looked up at Bumblebee. “So, do you have any plan on how we’re gonna turn the tide in this war?”

Bumblebee’s sigh was a depressed-sounding hum. Without his pod he wasn’t sure how to get in contact with Optimus. Until he could figure out how to do that there were two other things he needed to do: Find Cliffjumper and figure out why the Decepticons were here.

He stretched his hand out to Charlie, palm up. After a few moments of the girl just staring at it he flexed his fingers, silently asking her to come forward.

Almost immediately the Conan trotted over and jumped onto his palm. Bumblebee felt a warm affection to the little creature. Charlie-much more wary than her pet-caught on and carefully stepped onto his palm, resting on her knees and holding Conan to her chest.

“So where are we going?” she asked.

He looked around, trying to decide where he would go if he had landed here and hadn’t met Charlie. Finally he decided on the least cluttered road, Charlie followed where he pointed and let out a tired sigh.

“Yeah, sure. Why not?”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to this chapter since I wanted to go ahead and get it done before my trip and I felt it was too early for a Cliffjumper scene.  
> You'll get one at chapter 6.


	6. Chapter 6

It took Charlie longer than she wanted to admit to realize that Bumblebee was looking for something. But in her defense she had been busy trying to get used to the position she found herself in. With his hand too small to carry her Charlie was sitting in the crook of the robot’s arm, pressed against his chest in a grip that while made sure she didn’t fall-still felt awkward. Conan sat in her own arms, by his wagging tail he clearly was having a better time than she or Bumblebee.

  
His blue eyes were scanning the horizon, and despite him not being human Charlie could see worry in his expression. “What are you looking for?”

  
He glanced down at her, looking as if he was deep in thought. He looking around their surroundings before noticing a patch of dirt surrounded by a wrecked motorcycle and cracked bits of asphalt. Bumblebee placed her and Conan down before kneeling in front of the dirt. With one finger he reached out and started to sketch out a rough picture in the earth.

  
Setting Conan down to entertain himself Charlie walked over to stand next to Bumblebee, examining the picture she was making.

  
It was a less than perfect circle, but her eyes widened when he drew what looked like horns on top of the circle, Bumblebee finished the picture with a lopsided smile in the middle of the circle.

  
“Do…do you know who that is?”

  
Bumblebee whipped his head around to stare at her with wide eyes, he clearly caught the note of familiarity in her voice.

  
_Do_ you _know who that is?_ His face seemed to ask.

  
“I know where that- _he_ -is,” Charlie informed. “Is he bad?”

  
Bumblebee quickly shook his head and Charlie felt a sick twist in her gut. Just the other day she had found that body and had felt glee that it was dead…only to realize that maybe it- _he_ -would’ve wanted to help her.

  
“Let me take you to him then.”

  
.

  
Bumblebee knew what he would find as he followed Charlie down a cramped alley. But it didn’t lessen the pain when they stepped out onto a road, and saw Cliffjumper’s body.  
His friend had been torn to pieces, his legs and arms ripped until only a few wires kept them contact to his body. His face had been brutally scratched and one of his iconic horns snapped off his head. But it was his dead eyes that burned themselves into Bumblebee’s spark.

  
With Charlie standing quietly to the side, the Conan in her arms, Bumblebee carefully knelt down in front of his friend. It felt like the weight of this planet was lying on his shoulders. He couldn’t imagine Cliffjumper’s fear when he arrived on this planet, when he was found by the Decepticons and they…and they treated him like a toy, making him suffer, telling him to beg. But Cliffjumper never would. He would’ve never given the Cons the satisfaction, he would’ve fought with everything he had no matter how hopeless the battle was. He’d never let them see how scared he was as he died hurt and alone, wishing he could have said goodbye to his friends…

  
_He shouldn’t have been alone_ , Bumblebee reached his hands out to his friend, he realized he was shaking. It reminded him of a memory from back at the Academy. Some of the students had gone for a training hike when a stray Decepticon had found them. They had been lucky, the inexperienced students had only gotten a few injuries before the teacher with them had put the Con down. But it had come so close to killing Bumblebee, he had looked into the optics of pure malice and hatred and it had shaken him up, he had lost his steady aim. Many of the Bots there muttered that he had been a lost cause.

Optimus had never lost hope in him, but he was busy leading the war and it was Cliffjumper who stood next to Bumblebee during training. He offered encouragement and humor and compassion, he wouldn’t let Bumblebee rest until he had overcome his fear and excelled, both of them graduating with flying colors.

  
Cliffjumper had done so much for his fellow scout.

  
_And I couldn’t be there when you needed me most._

  
He curled over the fallen Autobot, resting his forehead against his friend’s cold chest. He was shivering with grief but he didn’t care, he couldn’t hold back the agony that his friend was gone, the Decepticons were here, and he was all alone.

  
A small warm hand touched Bumblebee’s arm. He lifted his head like it weighed tons as he looked down at Charlie. She was looking up at him with an expression that was both unsure yet understanding, her palm still pressed against his arm.

  
“I’m sorry,” she breathed, her voice soft with sympathy.

  
Hungry for physical contact he reached his other hand out to her, only to pull back when Charlie flinched and stepped away from him. The fear in her optics quickly switching to guilt. “I’m sorry…”

  
Spark sinking further in his chest Bumblebee turned back to Cliffjumper, standing guard over him. Wishing he knew of a place where he could leave his friend’s body in peace.

  
A few minutes of heavy silence and Charlie spoke again, “Are you going to bury him?”

  
Bumblebee blinked at her, confused.

  
“When humans die we usually bury them underground. It keeps them safe, and its a place where you can come back and visit them.”

  
Bumblebee liked the idea, he stood up, feeling a little less heavy now that he had something he could accomplish and walked over to what was left of the road. He moved and dug out a hole in the middle of the lane, this wasn’t the ideal place to bury his friend but it was better than just leaving him where he fell in battle. He reached the dirt and started to dig with his hands, the substance crunchy and stuck between his fingers, he was unsure how much he cared for that.

But he was positive Cons like Starscream would hate this. He had been told how the Decepticon was obsessed with being clean and pristine. So why a planet nothing like Cybertron?

  
Maybe Cliffjumper had known? Maybe that was the reason he had come to check this planet out.

  
With a hole large enough for his friend Bumblebee picked up Cliffjumper, he felt so alarmingly light, like his spark had been the only thing weighing him down.

  
He placed the Autobot in the hole, gazed down at his friend’s war-torn face once more time, and then started to cover him with dirt. It was a slow and numbing process and when Cliffjumper was completely buried, protected by the remains of this planet, Bumblebee couldn’t muster the energy to stand. What little motivation he had felt when he had started to bury Cliffjumper was gone along with his friend. He didn’t know how to get back up when he had no idea what he would do next-

  
“Do you want me to say a few words?”

  
Charlie had returned to his side and knelt beside the grave. She was holding something in her hands, Bumblebee recognized it as Cliffjumper’s missing horn.

  
She placed it atop of the earth that covered the fallen Autobot and began to speak, “I’m sorry this happened to you. I think if I had got a chance to meet you…you would’ve been very nice. And I’m sure if you and Bumblebee had found each other, you would’ve stopped these other robots. But I guess it’s up to me and Bumblebee now, for my planet, and for you.”

  
She laid her hand on the earth, “Rest in peace.”

  
She stood up and walked back to the Conan, leaving Bumblebee alone with his friend. Did she really believe they could stop the Decepticons all on their own? Cliffjumper couldn’t and he was more of a scout, more of a soldier, than Bumblebee would ever be.

  
_But he had been alone._

  
Bumblebee looked over to the girl, Cliffjumper hadn’t had Charlie. And while she was clearly scared of him, they were the only allies the other had, and together they might just have a possibility to do something…

  
He turned back around and laid his hand on Cliffjumper’s grave.

  
_Rest dear friend, you can count on us to stop the Decepticons…and thank you for everything you ever did for me._


	7. Chapter 7

Bumblebee’s footsteps were heavy as he carried Charlie and the Conan away from Cliffjumper’s grave. He was so lost in sweet memories and bitter thoughts that he might not have even realized how close danger was, not until he saw Charlie look up to the sky with fear evident in her face. Led my instinct Bumblebee dove to the side, pressing the two organics tight against his chest as he hid in the shadows of a tight alleyway.

  
His mind now clear he caught the thrum of engines and he shot his head up just to catch a jet transform into a familiar shape:  
Starscream.

  
While he had never seen the Decepticon leader in real life he recognized him from the holographs that the other Autobots showed him. And when they spoke of the Con they said he was clever, crafty, deadly, and beyond arrogant. There were some Autobots who didn’t take him seriously even if he did lead an army of enemies, but Optimus always told him to never underestimate a foe.

  
And it was about time he found out what the Cons were up to.

  
Bumblebee stepped out of the shadows and headed to the corner Starscream had vanished, (he was incredibly impressed that humans’ ruined architecture could hide Cybertronians from sight), when Charlie grabbed his arm. “What are you doing?”

  
He quickly placed a finger to his mouth plate, they needed to be as quiet as possible. The gesture didn’t stop the look of terror and suspicion from crossing Charlie’s face.

  
_Why can’t she trust me?_ He bit back the frustration, that was a problem to solve at another time.

  
He held her closer as they reached the corner and glanced to the other side. To his relief there was a piles of rubble that hid the Cons he could hear chattering. He could use that to get closer.

  
Taking one last glance around he bolted to the graveyard of scrap, his spark glowed with relief when they were safely hidden from any scarlet eyes.  
He could recongnize a few voices, the Decepticon Seeker Thundercracker…that crazy Con Skywarp…the metallic voice of Soundwave that filled him with dread. But he couldn’t make out their words. He needed to get closer.

  
Checking over the debris that was around him he spotted a white square with a hole in it, it looked like Charlie could fit in it if she squeezed. He placed her down and tried to lead her to the box but she dug her feet into the ground. “What are you _doing_?” she hissed, voice low.

  
Even with her voice quiet he felt a spike of panic. With Soundwave came Ravage and he could all too easily see that beast lurking in the corners, Charlie and the Conan would be nothing but chew toys to it.

 

So with frantic movement he pointed to her then to the box all the while giving her a beseeching look. After a second Charlie slowly crawled into the box, the softly growling Conan in her arms. She still looked wary, but hiding there would be safer than what he was about to do.

  
Bringing all his stealth training to the front of his memory core Bumblebee stalked up the hill of destroyed car parts, scattered bits of cement and glass, and smaller things that he guessed were other human appliances. And then he peeked his head over the top, and his spark gave a painful jolt of horror.

  
There were six Decepticons (how could he possibly fight _six_?!), and a few he recognized from battle, and even fewer he had met face to face.

  
The closest was Starscream, standing away from the group, hands behind his back, spine straight, he looked to be trying to ooze authority. And from the scowl on his face he wasn’t happy. Which probably meant Bumblebee had been right on the mark when he guessed Starscream wanted nothing to do with this dirty planet.

  
His eyes went past the jet and to the most massive hole Bumblebee had ever seen, he saw Thundercracker and Skywarp dive into the blackness. What was down there?

  
A red and blue pair of Cons were on the other side of the hole: Shatter and Dropkick, he had met them both in battle before, and while alone they were beatable, together they were deadly.

 

Shatter had her eyes on the hole Thundercracker and Skywarp had gone into, her expression looked…eager. Dropkick had his back on the whole group, eyes roving the land around them, Bumblebee had to keep his eye on him in case he started to look around his way.

  
Lastly there was Soundwave, and Bumblebee could admit he was a little surprised to see the stoic Con here, under Starscream’s command. He was known as Megatron’s most loyal follower, but after the Decepticon leader had vanished many Autobots had thought he’d refuse anyone else as his leader, especially a bot like Starscream. But now that he thought about it Bumblebee could remember a conversation he overheard between Ratchet and Ironhide, they had shared the possibility that Soundwave would keep fighting in the name of Megatron, that for all they knew Megatron had given Soundwave final orders before he was gone.

 

But what Bumblebee definitely knew was that he didn’t want to face Soundwave, he didn’t want to face any of these Cons, not alone.

  
Starscream suddenly let out a noise of disgust, “This is a waste of time.” The mutter was too quiet for everyone but Bumblebee to hear.

  
_Then why are you here, Starscream?_ Bumblebee nearly wanted to beg. _What could the Decepticons gain from all of this?_

  
There was a holler of delight and Skywarp flew out of the hole and into the sky, Bumblebee quickly ducked before could be spotted, audio receptors opened to catch what the Con said next: “Guess what we found!”

  
There were a chorus of gasps and gleeful muttering and Bumblebee couldn’t resist lifting his head back up to see what they had found.

 

For a moment he was sure his optics were malfuncting.

  
_It’s the AllSpark_ …

  
He had only seen the cube, now between Thundercracker’s hands, in holograms. Optimus and the other Autobots, they were all sure it had been gone for good, disappeared for millenia. But it was here, on this unsuspecting Earth, the entire time.

  
This is what the Decepticons had been looking for. But… Something wasn’t right.

  
Shatter shared his sentiment, her optics darkening when she stepped over to the cube, “What’s wrong with it?”

  
In all the pictures he had seen the cube had been a thing of beauty, pulsing blue lines, shaped like their ancient Cybertronian language, ran across its surface, even through a hologram Bumblebee had sensed its power-the thing that could bring both life and death-the most omnipotent thing Cybertron had to offer. And he had to hold himself back from screaming at Thundercracker and Skywarp: _WHAT DID YOU DO TO IT!?_

  
“See, this is why we don’t let these two do things,” Dropkick snarled as he walked over to stand by Shatter’s side. “Leave it to Cons like Skywarp to break the _AllSpark_!”

  
“No one broke it,” Thundercracker snapped, “It was like that when we found it.”

  
Starscream and Soundwave stepped forward. “It’s been rusting away on this Primus-forsaken planet for eons,” the former pointed out. “Maybe this place just has a bad effect on things from Cybertron.”

  
“No,” Soundwave spoke up, and all optics turned to him. “The AllSpark would not lose its power over time. It’s power was stolen.”

  
Bumblebee wished he could appreciate seeing the Cons looks so confused and even scared, but the feelings were mutual. What could possibly take the power of the AllSpark? What creature was walking on this planet with the power Cybertronians had killed for?

  
It was Skywarp who broke the silence, “Well, with the AllSpark useless I guess our second find is kinda pointless now.”

  
“OH SCRAP!” Thundercracker yelped, optics widening. “I forgot!”

  
Starscream’s gaze narrowed, “Forgot what-”

  
A shape arose from the gaping hole, hulking and think and purple: Shockwave.

  
_Fantastic, three of the most dangerous Decepticons known and all not a hundred feet away from me._

  
But any other thoughts Bumblebee had of Shockwave vanished when eh saw what the Con was carrying: a body, one that-like the AllSpark-he had only seen in holograms and the sight sent a crack of terror across his spark.

  
_Megatron._

 

.

 

Charlie was living in a post apocalyptic world and was trying to fight giant alien robots with a smaller but still giant alien robot, and because of those two things of _course_ she would find herself in peculiar situations. But Bumblebee making her hide in an oven was not one of the things she had imagined.

  
And while she understood that Bumblebee was trying to keep her safe, she wasn’t going to stay hidden when there was a chance she could find out what the hell was going on. Bumblebee couldn’t tell her what he was currently witnessing and she needed to know why these robots were on her planet and how to get them to leave.

  
“Stay,” she breathed to Conan, leaving him inside the oven. “ _Stay_ ,” she repeated firmly when the dog let out a small whimper. But he stayed put as she stepped away and headed toward Bumblebee, Otis had trained his dog well.

  
As she made her way up to Bumblebee she could hear the voices of the other robots, but they were using their own language so she she had no idea what they were saying.  
Bumblebee didn’t even move when she reached his side, his eyes on the group below. Charlie looked down and had to bite her tongue to keep from making any noise. The cube that she had found, it was laying at the feet of Bumblebee’s enemies, no longer as beautiful as she remembered. The sight of it made her arms tingle and once again she wondered what it had done to her, and once again she became very aware that bits of Bumblebee’s friend was in her blood.

  
But her attention quickly shifted to what the yellow robot was staring at: the body next to the cube.

  
It was larger than the rest, and even though its dead eyes stared up at the sky she couldn’t help a shudder of terror, as if it was still a threat. And by the way Bumblebee was tensed up, he felt the same.

   
 _We can’t be here._ Every instinct screamed at her that they needed to get away from this dead robot, and she was very willing to listen.

  
She reached out to grab Bumblebee’s arm but the bot must not have noticed her because he started in surprise as soon as she touched him, his arm banging against the metal trash underneath him. Charlie froze in panic but lucky for her Bumblebee moved immediately, grabbing her and yanking them both down, out of sight of the others.

  
_Did they see us did they see us did they see us?!_ Her mind cried in fear as she tried to listen for the sound of approaching footsteps or engines. Her face was pressed against Bumblebee’s chest who was tensed, ready to run, she caught the scent of oil and something otherwordly and she was almost comforted by it.

  
After a few agonizing seconds of the two clutching each other, waiting to see if they were about to be shot at, Bumblebee slightly relaxed.

 

Charlie let him carry her down to ground, fetching Conan before heading away from the hole and the cube and the body. But no matter the distance they put between them and it, the fear still hung over her like a cloud about to send thunder and lighting crashing down.

 

.

 

Starscream turned his head sharply, looking over his shoulder at the disgusting piles of garbage that surrounded him. He could’ve sworn he had heard something.

  
It was probably just one of the planet’s filthy little organics, still…

 

He looked down at the body of Megatron as Soundwave checked for any vitals. He didn’t think he’d ever see the face of his former leader again and with the AllSpark right next to him, that was more stress to his circuits than Starscream needed right now, no matter if the AllSpark had power or not.

  
_I don’t need any more enemies right now._

  
“Dropkick, come here,” Starscream ordered, stepping away from the group as they crowded around their fallen, former leader.

  
The blue Con casually walked over, “What’s up, Screamer?”

  
An optic twitched, “It is Lord Starscream.”

  
“Yeah sure. What’s up, Screamer?”

  
_You will deal with him later, Starscream you will deal with him later._

  
“I need you to do some hunting, I think we have a little spy.”

  
Immediately Dropkick’s optics glowed with excitement, “Is it a fleshy? I haven’t got to play with one in so long.”

  
“It could be.” Starscream’s voice lowered, “Or it could be the Autobot who killed Blitzwing. I want you to go scout and find out.”

  
“Without Shatter?” Dropkick looked over at the femme bot, the two loved to play as each other’s shadows.

  
Starscream frowned, “If you don’t believe you can handle the Autobot on your own then just find out where he’s hiding and then report it back to me. I don’t want any more living Autobots on this planet.”

  
With a swift nod Dropkick transformed and flew off, Starscream watched him go before joining the others.

  
“Where’s he going?” Shatter asked, looking ready to follow her comrade.

  
Starscream waved his hand, “Just on a small errand, it won’t take long.” _Primus, those two could learn some independenc_ e.

 

He stood over Megatron’s body, faking a reserved grief, “What would you like us to do with him?”

  
The question was directed to all the Cons present but only Soundwave had an answer, “Take him and the AllSpark back to base.”

  
Another twitch. “I really don’t believe there’s any saving Lord Megatron.”

  
Shockwave faced him, “Crazier things have happened Starscream, besides, I’d like to study both of them. Find out what exactly happened to our leader and the AllSpark.”

  
Starscream had to fight to keep his face passive, “Very well. Be it so.” _And it’s_ Lord _Starscream._


	8. Chapter 8

Bumblebee paced in front of Charlie’s home, the girl and her pet watching the Autobot as he tried to keep himself from having a meltdown.

  
Way too many things had happened today for him to process. He just wanted to have the day to grief for Cliffjumper but no Bumblebee couldn’t have that. He had to find out the AllSpark and Megatron had been buried on this planet for who knows how long. Not only that the AllSpark’s power was now… Bumblebee had no idea where it could be but he could bet that the Decepticons who could _fly_ were going to search the entire planet for that power-and kill any humans they find along the way. And then they’d probably revive Megatron and the most dangerous Decepticon of the galaxy would be alive and ready to do…Primus knew what.

  
_And I won’t be able to stop them. I’m just one bot I can’t do this on my own!_

  
“Hey, Bumblebee?”

  
He looked over to Charlie whose expression was one of pity. He laughed bitterly in his head. What a fine hero he was proving to be for this little human.

  
“I don’t know exactly what happened back there, but…” She let out a breath and lifted her chin, “But it’ll be okay. We’ll figure something out. I have absolutely no idea what but my teachers always told me I was really smart, I’ll think of something.”

  
_She’s trying to cheer me up even though she doesn't like me._

 

Bumblebee tried to smile for her, her words offering a bit of comfort and reminded him to think logically. Optimus and the others would know his radio silence meant something bad, they wouldn’t just abandon him. As long as he could still move and think he could find out a way to get in contact with them. Who knows maybe there’s a place here on Earth that could help him comm the Autobots.

  
_And it would give us a reason to get as far away from Megatron’s former grave as possible._

 

.

 

Charlie lay in bed, the world dark around here and the only thing she could hear was Conan’s snoring and the heavy thuds of Bumblebee’s steps outside.  
He hadn’t stopped pacing since they returned, but she had a feeling her words of encouragement comforted him, if just a little.

  
_Great, that means I haven’t lost my lying skills._

  
She felt so hopeless, hopeless and torn.

  
Lifting her hand up she tried to make out the outline of it in the darkness. She had tried to not think about the fact her veins now ran with the DNA of an alien robot, but the fact it had been Bumblebee’s friend-a friend he clearly missed-was something she couldn’t just throw into the back burner.

  
One part of her brain, the hopeful part that could see an end to all this, told her she should tell Bumblebee what had happened when she touched that cube (she wondered if she was the reason it no longer looked the same), and see if he knew what it all meant.

  
_But that's just it-you don't know_ , the other part of her brain hissed. It was the louder part that told her that Bumblebee wasn’t safe to be around even if he acted friendly. She didn’t know him and she didn’t know what he would do to her if she told him what had happened. Besides, he was mute its not like he could tell her what that cube was even if she did tell him.

  
Doing her best to ignore the guilt and fear pulsing in her chest she turned on her side and closed her eyes. Eventually the sound of Conan’s snores and Bumblebee’s pacing lulled her to asleep, blissfully unaware of the leering red orbs glaring down at the three.

 

.

 

The land the Decepticons chose as their base was bare, hot and dry, with open skies. It was the closest thing to tolerable this planet would get in Starscream’s opinion.

  
He stood at the railing of the base the first few seekers had built in the few mega-cycles before the full on invasion had begun.

  
He had just agreed to it to pander to Soundwave and Shockwave, the two Cons who had been most vocal about their distaste in his leadership. When Shockwave had suggested that they abandon Cybertron he had agreed despite how it felt like it was tearing at his Spark. He wanted to have the Con’s gratitude, it would come in handy, plus Shockwave had  spoke of finding the AllSpark and Starscream had liked that idea. They could revive their home with the AllSpark.

  
But he didn’t expect to catch a signal from it on this filthy excuse of a planet, and he definitely hadn’t expected Soundwave to catch the signal of Megatron, an incredibly faint signal, but it was enough that Starscream had no choice but to call for an attack on the planet.

That had been the easy (and fun) part, but Starscream’s perfect start into leadership went downhill when they dug up his former leader’s body and a useless AllSpark.

  
Both things were now in the base, being looked over to figure out if there was any saving either of them.

  
 Starscream recalled what Soundwave had said, that the AllSpark’s power had been stolen. But how? And who?

  
His optics glanced down, in the shadows of the base was what the Con’s liked to call the Organic Farm. A rundown and formerly abandoned town that now had two guards soaring over it in lazy circles.

  
Starscream really _had_ pandered to Shockwave, the scientist had taken an interest in the humans of this planet, found it curious how such emotional and primitive creatures had lived this long without eating each other. So with the Cons help he had grabbed a couple of humans from around the world and dropped them in the ‘farm’ where Shockwave would study-and dissect-when he had the time. Starscream had found it pointless, after all what could these creatures offer Cybertronians? But he knew Soundwave wouldn’t leave until they had searched this entire planet for their fallen leader, so as long as it kept him entertained.

  
But now the search is over, and now Starscream had to decide what was more important: finding the AllSpark’s power and reviving both Megatron and Cybertron, or let them both perish and he find a new home for the Decepticons.

  
_I have waited an eternity to become leader_ , he looked around the hot barren landscape, nothing like his home. _But do I want to rule over a planet such as this?_

  
He was spared from answering the internal question by the sudden appearance of Skywarp, the irksome Con flaunting his unique ability to teleport and landing on the railing.

  
“Was wondering where you flew off to, Screamer,” Skywarp grinned, sitting on the railing with his back to the landscape.

  
“It is Lord Starscream, Skywarp,” the jet corrected, “We’ve been over this.”

  
The growl of a jet and then Thundercracker was standing beside Starscream, “He has selective memory, you know that.”

  
“He teleports so much his processor must be scrambled,” Starscream told his commander, “Tragic, really.”

  
Skywarp scowled at the two, “Can you at least acknowledge my presence when you mock me?”

  
Thundercracker ignored him and turned his optics to Starscream, “So, I just talked to Soundwave.”

  
Starscream’s circuits tensed, “And?”

  
“There’s a bit of spark left in Megatron, not much, barely a flicker. But if they find the AllSpark…” Thundercracker’s grave voice trailed off. He and Skywarp were two of Starscream’s more loyal followers, they were perfectly fine with him as leader and wouldn’t tell another Con that he was less than pleased with Megatron’s return.

  
“So then,” Skywarp spoke up, “He’s scrap metal? I mean, the AllSpark lost its power.”

  
“Soundwave won’t leave this planet until we find a way revive him,” Starscream growled darkly. “Or if what’s left of Megatron’s spark snuffs out.”

  
“Are you still ignoring me?” Skywarp asked.

  
“When I left he and Shockwave were talking about sending Ravage out to start the hunt for the power source,” Thundercracker informed.

  
Starscream’s optics blazed, “They should be disccusing it with me! As long as Megatron is on his deactivation bed I’m the leader of the Decepticons!”

  
“You’re ignoring me,” Skywarp huffed, sounding like a rejected sparkling.

  
Thundercracker frowned, “I know that, and so do they. But they don’t believe you could lead like Megatron and if they can get him back they’ll do whatever it takes.”

 

Thundercracker looked out over the Organic Farm, his face twitching in discomfort at the town. Thundercracker was one of the few Cons who hadn’t taken much pleasure in taking down the humans, he saw them as too helpless to be any sort of entertainment or challenge. That soft spark would be the ruin of him someday, especially if the AllSpark power was with a hu-

  
_Don’t even finish such a ridiculous thought_ , Starscream growled to himself. The AllSpark’s power was too great for one of these pathetic humans to wield.

  
He grabbed Thundercracker’s arm and pulled him closer, his voice barely above a whisper, “Then we make sure they can’t bring him back. Whatever it takes.”

  
Thundercracker gave a solemn nod, optics darkening.

  
“STOP IGNORING ME!”

  
Skywarp’s shout made them both jump before Starscream smacked the Con, sending him sprawled across the floor. “Do not yell at your leader, Skywarp.”

  
“If there’s any bots left on Cybertron, they just heard you,” Thundercracker moaned, rubbing one of his audio receptors.

  
Skywarp pushed his face off the metal of the floor, “Then let me in on your secrets now and then! With Dropkick gone no one else will talk to me.”

  
 “Ah, yes, my errand Con,” Starscream looked up to the sky as if he expected to see the blue robot arriving. “I wonder how his little mission is going.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah that Spark thing I don't know how accurate to canon that is but I gotta pretend that that this is accurate or this story will not work.


	9. Chapter 9

Bumblebee sat under the shadows of Charlie’s room, his audio receptors catching the soft sounds of the human’s breathing. It was a surprisingly soothing sound and with his legs sore from countless minutes of pacing he was more than happy to relax, calming down from his earlier meltdown.

  
But while his circuits took a rest, his mind was trying to figure out where they could go next. He needed to convince her to leave first, he wasn’t sure how much she would care for that idea. She wasn’t like him, she wasn’t used to constantly moving, she wasn’t used to not having a home to return to.

His thoughts came to a halt when a new sound broke the silence, it was a crunching type of noise, like someone heavily stepping on glass. A moment later he heard growling above his head, the Conan had heard the noise too.

  
As he slowly stood up he heard Charlie groan groggily, being awakened by her pet’s growling. 

“Bumblebee?” she mumbled as she saw him staring out into the darkness around them. “What’s wrong?”

He didn’t glance at her, his optics scanning their surroundings looking for any sign of movement, the Conan snarling behind him. Something-someone-was out there, and it left a thick tension in the air. Bumblebee flicked his wrist and his blade slid out, glinting in the moonlight. After a few unbearable seconds, waiting for whatever was out there in the shadows, he turned his other hand to Charlie, ready to grab her and get them as far away from here as possible.

  
But just as he moved there was a flash of blue and Bumblebee lunged forward, stopping Dropkick from barreling into Charlie’s home.

  
The taller Decepticon clutched Bumblee’s hands, putting an agonizing amount of pressure to them as he tried to push Bumblebee to his knees. Behind him he heard the Conan barking wildly and he prayed to Primus that Charlie would grab him and they would run.

  
Dropkick didn’t seem to notice the two organics, his scarlet eyes glaring down at Bumblebee in malicious glee. It reminded Bumblebee how Dropkick was just a more energon-thirsty Blitzwing.

  
The Con smirked at him, “B-127. So you’re the one who slagged Blitzwing and ruined my good time. Ah, well, I’ll just have to find a new way to entertain myself.”

  
Bumblebee noticed in the corner of his optic Dropkick lifting his leg, ready to kick Bumblebee’s knee and send him to the ground, and the bot knew if he fell to the ground it was all over. And since Bumblebee tended to do crazy things when backed into a corner, he decided knocking himself into the Decepticon was the best plan.

And in his plan’s defense Dropkick did not see the sudden attack coming, that combined with one leg in the air and the two fell in a thrashing tangle of metal. Bumblebee tried to stab the Con like he did with Blitzwing but Dropkick was fast and slippery and it was only a few moments before he escaped from underneath Bumblebee. The yellow bot quickly jumped to his feet and managed to dodge a blast aimed at his head, the heat grazing his shoulder before he started a rapid fire at Dropkick. He kept Charlie’s home in the corner of his optic, he couldn’t see her or the Conan and hoped that meant they left. But he couldn’t be confident and had to make sure the building wasn’t caught in the crossfire. Maybe if he could get Dropkick to follow him-

  
Dropkick was a blur as he raced forward and landed a punch on Bumblebee’s jaw, the Autobot kicking him in the chest to put distance between them before he had a blaster pressed into his torso.

  
“You’re awful quiet, Autobot,” Dropkick sneered. “I figured you’d have lots to say.” He smirked at Bumblebee, “I know you were spying on us little bot. You saw our treasure.”

  
_Yes, but I also saw that Megatron is dead and something…something bad happened with the AllSpark._

  
But he couldn’t say any of that to Dropkick so he settled on his optics narrowing.

  
Dropkick snorted, “Fine. Be that way.” In a split second he jumped to the right, moving at an incredible speed and slamming into Bumblebee, the smaller bot grabbing the wrist that wielded the Con’s own blade. Bumblebee pulled his head back, just barely missing the serrated weapon as it slid by his head. He twisted Dropkick’s wrist and sent him flying over his shoulder, crashing into the deserted skeleton of concrete.

  
Bumblebee turned on his heel and was ready to get some more blows in before the dust settled, but then he heard barking.

  
The Conan was in the shadow of Charlie’s home, the girl no where to be found as the small creature yapped furiously at Dropkick who slowly rose to his legs.

  
 _Run away_ , Bumblebee willed his small but brave friend as Dropkick rushed back at him, the two once again grappling. The two Cybertronians kept to their fists and blades as they knocked into the buildings that caged them, Bumblebee making sure none of those buildings were Charlie’s. But with the Conan barking near his feet he couldn’t keep his entire focus on Dropkick and he couldn’t risk using his blaster so near the little organic.

  
Dropkick suddenly let out an aggravated snarl, managing to grab Bumblebee’s shoulders and spun around, slamming the Autobot’s back into a building that was much stronger than expected. But that didn’t stop Bumblebee from crashing through the wall, landing in a pile of pain as Dropkick whirled around and narrowed his optics at the Conan who still barked wildly.

  
“Shut _UP_ you annoying little parasite,” he hissed, stomping over to stand far too close to Charlie’s room.

  
_Where is she?_

  
Bumblebee’s spark jumped in panic when Dropkick lifted his foot, its shadow falling over the Conan who glared and snarled at him with defiance. “This outta get rid of my headache.”

  
_NO!_

  
Dropkick’s foot dropped down-and met the metal of Bumblebee’s back.

  
The Autobot was curled on top of the Conan who went silent as if he finally understood the danger they were in.

  
Bumblebee glared up at Dropkick whose face was stretched in surprise. But his astonishment quickly twisted into cruelty. “So that’s what you’re doing here, huh B-127?”  
He slammed his heel into Bumblee’s spine, the metal shrieking in agony. Bumblebee tried to stand up but a kick to his neck send his face into the gravel, it was all he could do to not squash the Conan that was now shivering underneath him.

  
“You went and got yourself some organic pets,” Dropkick jeered, “How _Autobot_ of you.” Another kick, this one making his processor cry out to go. But each time Bumblebee tried to stand back up there was another kick, he had made the fatal mistake of falling under Dropkick’s shadow-the con wouldn’t let him back up.

  
And he was still jabbering away, “It’s like you all have a death wish. Wanting to care for all the pathetic, defenseless little creatures in the galaxy, it’ll only get you all killed. It’s what your buddy Cliffjumper would do.”

  
Bumblebee tensed and tried to lift his head but Dropkick pushed his whole weight on his head, keeping his face pressed against the gravel.

  
“That fellow scout of yours was a better spy than you, he found out that we were digging up Megatron and it was ages before we found him. He put up a much better fight than you too . nearly completely buried that hole with all the debris he tricked us into knocking down during the fight.” There was something akin to respect, even admiration, in Dropkick’s voice, but it was replaced with contempt when he continued: “But just like you will soon be, he had his circuitry ripped out.”

  
There was a moment of silence as if Dropkick was waiting for Bumblebee to reply, if he hadn’t had his voice box ripped out he would’ve gladly given Dropkick many choice words.

  
Dropkick grunted, “This is boring. You’re boring me.”

  
Bumblebee lifted his optics up to see the barrel of Dropkick’s blaster aimed at his face.

  
“I think it’d make Starscream happy if I take your head back to base, be a nice little paper weight.”

  
Bumblebee braced himself for the fatal blast, preparing himself to see Cliffjumper way sooner than plan-

  
“ _HEY_!”

  
It felt like everything suddenly moved in slow motion.

  
He saw Charlie, appearing from her room. She was brandishing a long, black metal pole that he realized was a piece from the stairs that were connected to her room. Even from the ground he could see her eyes were glowing with rage.

  
And then, to Bumblebee’s shock and awe, Charlie shoved the rod into Dropkick’s optic, the orb shattering as more than half of the pole was forced into the Con’s head.  
Dropkick let out a howl of agony and knocked Charlie off the building, Bumblebee managing to catch her just in time. But he didn’t have the time to check the damage Dropkick had done, instead he snatched up the Conan and bolted, pressing the two tightly against his aching chest. He transformed mid air, Charlie laid sprawled on his back seat with the Conan at her feet.

  
Behind them Charlie watched as Dropkick shot his blaster at her home, sending the already wrecked building into flames. Did he not realize that she was no longer there? He still snarled with pain, one hand held protectively over his eye, he didn’t give chase.

  
As Bumblebee got farther and farther away Charlie covered her mouth, holding back her wretched sob.

  
Her safe haven, and the only photo she had of her dad, disappeared behind the flames before the distance made even the fire vanish all together.   
   
 


	10. Chapter 10

Starscream sat in what he liked to call his throne room, leaning forward in his seat with his hand resting on his chin. On either side of him stood Thundercracker and Shatter, the former looking like he would pass out on his feet.

  
Before Starscream stood three Decepticons: Thrust, Ramjet, and Dirge, and apparently they wanted a new mission.

  
“It’s just a waste of Con power, Lord Starscream,” Thrust replied in his oily voice. “Having us do patrols on a small, empty island when there’s an Autobot slinking around.”

  
Starscream’s optics narrowed, “How do you know there’s an Autobot?”

  
“News travels fast,” Ramjet piped up. “You wanted everyone to hear how you defeated Cliffjumper, Lord Starscream. And not a meta-cycle passes when we get the news of Blitzwing’s death.”

  
Starscream let out a huff, “There is no need to send out a hunting party. I already sent out Dropkick.”

  
“Dropkick?” Thrust echoed in dismay. “A thousand apologies my lord. But Dropkick is…”

  
“He’s what?” Shatter hissed, defensive of her partner.

  
Dirge wisely took several steps back away from the femme bot while Thrust and Ramjet exchanged nervous glances.

  
“He’s uh-just one Decepticon,” Thrust decided on, making Starscream smirk. “And Blitzwing was a formidable warrior, yet an Autobot still killed him.”

  
“And you think you have a better chance?” Thundercracker spoke up, by his expression he found the prospect absolutely laughable.

  
Thrust moved his mouth to respond but Starscream held up a hand, and he did admit the way Thrust instantly snapped his mouth shut filled the jet with more than a small amount of glee.

  
“Whether these three can bring down the Autobot doesn’t matter, I already sent Dropkick to do just that and I don’t need to waste more Decepticons on one small problem.”  
Optics looked around one another and Starscream knew the entire room was sharing the same thought: If that Autobot had already radioed for help, this one problem was about to multiply.

  
If any of the Cons had planned on voicing the thought they didn’t get a chance. There was suddenly the sound of a screaming engine getting closer and closer, followed by a familiar, pained and furious voice: “ _SHATTER_! _STARSCREAM_!”

  
 Starscream jumped to his feet as Dropkick burst into the room, transforming mid air to collapse on his knees on the floor. Sparks and energon leaking from his empty right socket.

  
“It’s B-127!” He snarled, his remaining optic burning with an unbridled rage. “B-127 is on this planet!”

  
“The scout?” Thundercracker asked as Shatter hurried to the blue Con’s side, examining the damage. “I fought him once. He’s small but he knows how to take a bot down.”

  
Starscream narrowed his optics, “I’m surprised he didn’t take half your face when he took your optic.”

  
If he hadn’t been paying attention he wouldn’t have caught the shame shining bright in his optic, mixing with the fury that looked like it could set something on fire.  
“No,” Dropkick growled. “When I was fighting B-127 this…fragging human stabbed me with some sort of rod.”

  
There was a moment of quiet that was quickly broken by the snickering of Thrust’s trio and even Thundercracker smirked.

  
“How embarrassing,” Thrust tittered, still grinning. “Lord Starscream was just telling us about how you’re such a capable warrior. But you came back half-blind because a human got the best of you.”

  
Dropkick pulled away from Shatter and took a threatening step toward Thrust, “A human that was completely blind could get the best of your scrawny aft you slagging son of a glitch-”

  
“ _QUIET_!”

  
Dropkick released a low growl but didn’t say more, glaring at Thrust. And while the Con kept his head up Starscream noticed the shaking of his servos.

  
“Did you see any other Autobots?” he demanded of Dropkick.

  
“No,” was the reply, his remaining optic still burning into Thrust’s plating. “It was just B-127. He didn’t put up much of a fight either, too preoccupied with protecting his brand new pets.”

  
_So he’s grown attached to the organics of this planet_. Starscream couldn’t help being mildly surprised, yes the Autobots were a pack of bleeding sparks but what use did they have of protecting what was left of this planet. They weren’t like Shockwave, they wouldn’t slice them up for studying.

  
Speaking of Shockwave…

  
“Good news, Thrust,” Starscream turned to the quaking con. “I have a new assignment for you, Ramjet, and Dirge.”

  
Thrust’s and Ramjet’s optics lit up in excitement, though Dirge didn’t look overly eager.

  
“Shockwave requested more subjects to study, go and collect a handful of humans and bring them back here. It doesn’t matter where you get them.”

  
Thrust’s shoulders drooped in disappointment, “That’s it?”

  
Starscream let out a snarl, “Are you not pleased with your leader’s direct orders?”

  
“That-that’s not it at all!” Thrust quickly assured, glancing over at Thundercracker who had taken a step forward. “Its just…with such a dangerous Autobot out there I thought maybe we could-”

  
“Have any of you actually met B-127 in battle?” Thundercracker demanded. “I’ve seen Cons go offline because they underestimate him. He’s killed Decepticons much stronger and more experienced than you.”

  
“Dropkick almost killed him,” Dirge pointed out.

  
“Yeah,” Ramjet added, “He would’ve snuffed out his spark if that human hadn’t beat him.”

  
Shatter quickly grabbed Dropkick’s arm before he could lunge at the Seekers. “It did _not_ beat me!”

  
“That’s enough,” Shatter said firmly, having been quiet this entire time. Starscream could only guess what she was thinking at.

  
“Besides, Blitzwing and those other Cons no doubt faced the Autobot _alone_ ,” Thrust pointed out. “But we three could attack him as a team, and since he can’t fly we can make quick work of him _and_ bring Shockwave his pet human. I bet he would adore tearing open something that belongs to an Autobot.”

  
 “Your first order is to collect humans for Shockwave,” Starscream reminded them. “…However, if you truly think you can succeed where Dropkick failed, then you have my permission to do so.”

  
“Just don’t say you weren’t warned,” Thundercracker added as delight spread across Thrust’s face.

  
“You will not regret this, my Lord Starscream.” After a dramatic bow Thrust led his two companions out of the throne room.

  
Once they were out of sight Starscream turned to Shatter, “Go send for a medic, see if there’s any spare optics lying around for Dropkick.”

  
Shatter nodded and turned to lead her partner away, but Dropkick looked at Starscream with an intensity he had never seen from the blue Con.

  
“If they get B-127’s human I want it,” he growled, voice heavy with hate and fury. “Shockwave can have what’s left after I rip it apart limb from limb. Slowly.”

  
“We’ll see,” Starscream replied before turning his back on the two. If he outright refused Dropkick’s demand the blue Con wouldn’t leave him a moment’s peace, and Starscream felt so exhausted after dealing with Thrust.

  
Thundercracker watched Starscream as he resettled himself on his seat. “Do you think those three could kill B-127?”

  
“ _You_ clearly don’t.”

  
Thundercracker smirked, “I can’t say I’ll miss them if that scout puts them off line.”

  
“Neither will I,” Starscream replied. “But I will miss how they grovelled, it was the only thing they were good at.”

  
There was a few minutes of silence before Thundercracker spoke again, his voice low with worry. “Do you think B-127 commed any…other Autobots?”  
He didn’t speak the name that hung in the air, silent but threatening: _Optimus Prime_.

  
“If he did they’re clearly not here yet,” Starscream said. “They wouldn’t have let Dropkick come back. And if they are here, we can just inform them about our Organic Farm, they won’t try anything if we threaten Shockwave’s ‘playthings’.”

  
“If there’s one thing all Autobots have in common,” Thundercracker spoke up, “It’s that they never put themselves as priority one.”

  
“And that’s why they’ll lose.” Starscream lifted his hand, palm up, and flexed his fingers.

  
Thundercracker looked down at his leader. “Do you think it’s the same one?”

  
“What?”

  
“The female human we found when we were digging for the AllSpark, she was the only living human we’d seen around those parts.”

  
Oh Starscream remembered her. She was the closest he had been to a human, after all he didn’t need to be up close to shoot something. He didn’t like the human being so close to something that belonged to him. He had grabbed her, enjoying her fear and trying to decide if he wanted to take her back to the farm or just kill her there and leave her corpse as a warning. But then he had seen the red liquid on her hands, disgusting liquid that stained his fingers. He had dropped her, snarling with revulsion as the human disappeared into the pounds of rubble like the parasite she was.

  
He had returned in a foul mood, the scarlet liquid staining his hand. Shockwave had cleaned the disgusting substance up, but decided to keep it as a sample, despite the fact he had plenty of samples already. Starscream hadn’t thought more of it, just grateful to be clean. But now that it was possible the same human had wounded Dropkick…

  
“Perhaps,” Starscream finally replied, still looking down at his hand. “If she was stupid enough to get near the AllSpark she would be stupid enough to get herself involved with Cybertronians.”

  
Thundercracker frowned, “You don’t think…that that human is the reason the AllSpark is…”

  
“I don’t see how,” Starscream didn’t let the jet finish. “The AllSpark is mean to affect, and work, for Cybertronians, not organics.”

 

.

 

Charlie lay on a shaggy couch, dusty with lack of use. She was wrapped around Conan who liked at her wet cheek but she barely felt it, too wrapped up in grief.

  
She had lost her father’s photo, she should’ve grabbed it before she had attack that blue robot. Now the picture and what she had called home was gone. She clutched Conan tighter and the dog whimpered slightly in discomfort. He was all Charlie had left. She had lost two homes, her mother and brother, and anything to remember her dad by. She thought of all her memories with him, terrified at the thought of one day she’d wake up and not remember what he looked like.

  
If she even lived that long.

  
Charlie wasn’t sure where Bumblebee was, after driving for what felt like hours they had come across a damaged but still standing cul-de-sac and he had led her inside. After Charlie had collapsed on the couch he had transformed and drove off.

  
She wasn’t sure what he was doing, or if he was even coming back, and she couldn’t summon the strength to care. She hadn’t felt this hopeless since day one of the robot apocalypse. It didn’t help that Bumblebee had been struggling with the blue robot, it hadn’t been like the red and white one, it was a better fighter, and it probably wasn’t the only one.

  
_They’ll kill us both. Or I’ll live out the rest of my days in the shambles of my planet and forget what my father even looks like._

  
She buried her face into Conan’s fur and lost track of time, it could’ve been minutes, or it could’ve been hours as she lay there, heart-broken and despairing.  
But then she caught the sound of a car driving by. Bumblebee had come back.

  
Charlie sat up, wiping the tears from her eyes. She headed for the door of the practically empty house, Conan trotting after her. But as she opened the door the small dog suddenly halted, one paw in the air. A growl came from his throat and his hackles rose.

  
“What’s wrong?” Charlie’s brow furrowed as she followed Conan out into the cold morning air. “You like Bumble-”

  
Charlie stopped dead in her tracks. A few feet away was a banged up corvette with the roof gone, and sitting in the corvette were two bulky guys and one skinny woman. There eyes gleamed meanly, reminding her of the robot she had just stabbed in the eye.

  
“You’re not something I expected to see today,” the girl replied in a voice that reminded Charlie of a snake.

  
“A real surprise,” the driver added.

  
“A _cute_ surprise, the second man growled and Charlie felt a shudder of fear.

  
She had been so used to giant alien robots as the threat she had forgotten something very important: Disasters turned people into monsters.

  
Without a word she picked up Conan, bristling and snarling, just as the second man opened hid car door. He didn’t step out, merely waved his arm toward her. “You all alone, sweetheart? Wanna hop in for a ride.”

  
“Bet its been a while since you saw a working car,” the driver smirked, patting the steering wheel.

  
Charlie didn’t reply, keeping her eyes on the three as she took one step back, then a second, then a third.

  
The second man jumped out of the car.

  
Charlie immediately turned on her heel and bolted inside, slamming the door shut and hurrying up the creaking stairs.

  
Just as she heard a heavy body slam into the door the step under her gave way and she stumbled, Conan falling out of her arms to land clumsily on the step. He caught himself and barked madly at the door as another heavy thud filled Charlie with dread.

  
She picked up the dog and continued to run up the stairs, reaching the second floor as she heard the feeble door break and fall to the floor.

  
“Come on, sweetie!” It was the woman’s voice, her tone sickly sweet. “Let my boys have some fun and we won’t cook your dog for breakfast.”

  
Charlie reached the end of the hallway and hid herself in the last room, a practically bare bedroom with no lock. The woman’s words, and the heavy stomp of approaching steps nearly made Charlie vomit. She placed Conan on the ground, wishing he would stop barking. But instead the furious little dog scratched furiously on the door. Looking around Charlie was relieved to see a desk and a chair. Grabbing the chair she hurriedly placed it under the door knob just as it started to turn, the chair kept the door closed but Charlie knew it wouldn’t be long before they managed to break into this room too, then she would be trapped.

  
Unless…

  
“Come on,” one of the man whined like he was a child. “You’re so beautiful we just wanna talk!”

  
Charlie picked up Conan and ran across the room to the open window. Without thinking too hard on it she threw her legs out and pressed her feet against the frame of the window directly below her, only using one arm to hold herself in place with Conan now squirming frantically.

  
_BAD IDEA THIS IS SUCH A BAD IDEA CHARLIE WATSON YOU ARE THE BIGGEST IDIOT IN THE WORLD THIS IS THE WORST IDEA!!!_

  
Suddenly a familar buzz reached her ears. Charlie turned her head to see Bumblebee a few yards away, heading toward them. He halted in shock when he saw Charlie hanging out of a window.

  
“ _BEE_!”

  
The robot let out a noise akin to a frantic scream and raced toward her.

  
A rough hand grabbed her arm and one of the men was suddenly leering over her, trying to drag her back into the room.

  
“ _Let me go_!” she shrieked in terror. “Let me go, _please_!”

  
He had pulled her halfway in, his friends watching with heinous glee. But right before her legs came through the window frame Conan reached out and bit the man’s arm, drawing blood. He let out a howl of pain and released Charlie, she pulled back and gravity snatched her, sending and her and Conan falling toward the cement below.

  
But then Bumblebee was there, catching them and holding the shaking girl and dog close to his chest.

  
The man, clutching the bleeding dog bite, stared at Bumblebee with eyes so wide it looked like they’d fall out of his head, his two companions behind him and looking just as horrified.

  
Bumblebee glared up at the humans and made a noise that reminded Charlie of Conan’s growling. He stood up to his full height and that was enough for the three to run, vanishing back into the house. A few seconds later and Charlie heard the back door open and the frantic cries of the three as they ran away in terror.

  
Bumblebee held Charlie for several minutes, waiting until Charlie’s shaking had stopped before he gently placed her back on the ground.

  
“Thank you,” she breathed, placing Conan on the ground, the dog looked just as shaky as she felt.

  
Bumblebee was looking at her with obvious worry and Charlie felt guilt that she had considered the thought he had abandoned her.

  
“Not-not all humans are good,” she explained, not wanting to go into detail about what would happen if those three had caught her. But Bumblebee nodded solemnly with understanding in his blue eyes. Charlie sat down, placing Conan on her lap to give him a well-deserved scratch behind the ears. “Thank you too, Conan. You’re both heroes.” She looked up to the robot, “Where were you, by the way?”

  
His eyes widened as if he just remembered something. Bumblebee opened his chest, Charlie hadn’t even known he could do that, and pulled out cans of food, bags of chips, and bottled water, even a blanket.

  
“You went and got supplies!” Charlie was touched. “Thank you.”

  
But Bumblebee wasn’t done, he hand was searching through his chest cavity, looking for something. Charlie’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped when Bumblebee offered her a photo that was charred around the edges.

  
It was her dad, smiling up at her, still intact, still safe.

  
She reached shaking hands out and took it, hardly believing her eyes. “You…you went back and got this? For me?” She hadn’t even said anything about it.

  
Bumblebee nodded, even without a mouth it was obvious he was smiling.

  
“But-but that blue robot could’ve still been there. You could have gotten hurt.”

  
He shrugged, as if it was no big deal.

  
Charlie was in awe. He had remembered her father’s photo, had been able to tell how much it meant to her even when she had said it wasn’t important. And he had risked running into a robot that had nearly killed him, just for her.

  
Through her watery gaze she saw Bumblebee’s eyes widen, now concerned to see her crying. Charlie tried to wipe at the tears but it was no use.  
With a relieved laugh she reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  
Bumblebee went rigid under her touch, but only for a moment, and then he relaxed into her embrace, pressing his cheek against her hair.  
He felt as warm as the sun, his metal comfortable against her skin. And when he wrapped his arms around her she had felt a sense of security she had never felt before.  
With a smile that was hurting her lips she buried her face against his neck, “Thank you, Bumblebee. For everything.”

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

When he was a kid Jack Burns had always wanted to be one thing: a hero.

  
There hadn’t been many heroes in his life, with his father and his endless drinking, and his mother with her depression, Jack had been a lonely child. But he never let that get to him and got himself, kicking and spitting blood, into the army. It was one of the few times he had ever felt like he was where he was suppose to be.

  
And then it happened.

  
He had been one on a practice mission, seeing it as a mini vacation and looking forward to train with his friends. At first Burns hadn’t thought much of the low flying jets, probably just pilots testing their rides and showing off.

  
But then came the attack. Rapid fire bullets of energy gunned his men down and Burns had barely managed to save himself. He had made his way back to base as it was under attack by…he still didn’t know what they were.

  
They looked like robots, but watching them set fire to the base, to the nearby towns, to his home…robots didn’t take such delight in causing such destruction. These things were sentient, alive, and evil.

  
The attack had come so suddenly, and with no idea where these robots are or why they were attacking-they only lasted a few weeks. At last, Burns squad did.  
He, and two very lucky rookies, were the only surviving soldier left in California. At least that’s what it felt like, he hadn’t been able to contact any other squads in a long time, and he knew the robots were keeping control of the radio towers.

  
Standing on the roof of an office building that hadn’t been knocked down, Burns saw the tall shape of a radio tower miles away, and every few moments he saw a jet or a helicopter slowly pass it, obviously keeping watch.

  
If he could just get to it…he had to believe they weren’t the only ones left. He had to believe that he could collect enough fighters, that they had a chance to take back their home.

  
He had to for Sanctuary’s sake.

  
Burns looked over his shoulder as he heard a pair of footsteps heading toward him.

  
William Lennox, one of the rookies, was walking toward him casting a wary glance over at the tower.

  
“Did you find anyone?” Burns asked. He had sent a few men to check over the building while he immediately took to the stairs, wanting to see what vantage point the building gave us.

  
“Just one,” Lennox’s eyes were dark. “Some poor guy who decided he’d try his luck in the next life instead.”

  
Burns released a regretful sigh. If the man had just waited a few more days they would’ve found him, they could have gotten him somewhere safe. But now he was another life lost.

  
Burns sent a hate-filled glare over to the radio tower where a helicopter was circling it. _All because of them_. 

  
“But other than that,” Lennox continued, “I think this is the only stable building close to tower. Not to mention we’ll get spotted if we try to set up any closer.”

  
“Yeah, this will do,” Burns nodded, heading back downstairs with Lennox at his heel. He was young but Burns appreciated both him and his friend, Robert Epps were skilled and brave, and they too had seen first hand what these things could do. They were on a plane to visit home when one of the robots had appeared out of nowhere, sending their plan hurtling to the ground. Lennox and Epps had been the only survivors and that in itself was a miracle. The three had found each other by chance and it had been easier carrying the world on his shoulders with the two to take some of the weight.

  
Together the three had found other survivors, mainly helpless citizens who needed to be looked after, but they started raising their own little army who were willing to fight back, if only they could figure out how to kill these things without tanks or larger weapons. Or better yet, find tanks or larger weapons that could still be used.  
But until then Burns and his ragtag squad would have to do their best in keeping the survivors alive, and finding a way to get control of that radio tower.

 

.

 

“Okay, we’ll have to figure out how to do this without a can opener.”

  
Bumblebee sat a few feet away, watching Charlie try to open one of the cans he had brought for her. The Conan stood by her, wagging his tail and looking incredibly excited. It made Bumblebee happy, he had picked the can mainly because there was a similar looking creature on the can. He assumed it was another type of dog, he had no idea how many shapes and sizes they came in.

  
As Charlie tried to knock the can open by knocking its side against the concrete, Bumblebee couldn’t hold back a burst of joy in his spark. He could still feel her arms around his neck. She had hugged him! That was a good sign! That’s what friends did!

  
And all he had done was do what he thought had been obvious. He had seen how sad and scared Charlie had been when they escaped Dropkick and he wanted to cheer her up, and he remembered that picture she had been so protective of. The picture of her dad, he wasn’t completely sure what that word meant, but the way her eyes looked when she looked at that picture, it was an expression of great affection and grief. It reminded him of how he felt now that he was separated from Optimus. He had been lucky to find it still intact among the rubble Dropkick had left behind. The Decepticon had been nowhere to be found but Bumblebee wasn’t complaining. He could still hear his primal, raging scream as Charlie slammed that pole into his optic.

  
Bumblebee smiled to himself, Charlie had just been talking about it. Saying how cool she had been to attack the Con like that, he had nodded with enthusiasm. That had been…something extraordinary. But Bumblebee made a mental note to never, ever, let Charlie and Dropkick meet again.

  
“Think you’d have better luck?” Charlie’s words brought him back to the present. She was holding out the can with a beseeching look on her face. Bumblebee took the small item, holding it between two fingers, and decided to give it a test squeeze to see how durable it was.

  
The slight pinch made the can explode, bits of brown substance splattering across the ground, his hand, and Charlie.

  
She had opened her mouth in a gasp of surprise at the sudden explosion, but seconds later burst into laughter when the Conan started lapping the brown stuff up with obvious glee. Bumblebee thought his wagging tail would lift him off the ground.

  
The Conan didn’t even finish its meal on the ground before it jumped at Bumblebee’s hand, happily licking up the thick, partly liquid stuff that got on his fingers. Its tongue tickled and he let out a hum of humor.

  
“You wanna clean me up to, Conan?” Charlie whistled for the dog’s attention and the small bundle of joy happily complied, jumping into Charlie’s lap and knocking her onto her back with force as he licked her face.

  
Charlie’s laughter suddenly cut into a hiss of pain and Bumblebee stood up, worry widening his optics. He walked over and knelt before Charlie who had sat back up. It didn’t look like she had fallen on anything sharp, and surely it hadn’t been the Conan’s jump that had hurt her.

  
“I’ll be okay, Bee,” she winced but smiled up at him. “It’s just my back.”

  
_Your back…Bumblebee you slaghead!_

  
Dropkick had slammed his fist into her back when he knocked her to the ground, he had forgotten how fragile humans were. He could’ve killed her with a hit like that.

  
He grabbed the edge of the cloth that covered her torso (he vaguely recalled the pod’s computer telling him it was a type of clothing called a shirt), wanting to lift it up so he could get a look at her back, but as soon as he moved his hand up Charlie let out a yelp that had nothing to do with pain and jumped away from his hand.

  
She stared up at him, her optics wide and her face red. Was she okay? He felt a twinge of hurt at his next thought: _Did she still not want me to touch her? Was the hug a one time thing because she had felt grateful?_

  
“What were you trying to do?” she asked, her face still red and eyes wary.

  
He pointed to her back and hummed with concern. He wanted to assess the damage, and it wasn’t like she had a mirror around for her to do it herself.

  
Charlie understand what he was getting at and she muttered that she was fine, _really_ , but she turned her back on him and pulled the shirt up to reveal her back.

  
That didn’t _look_ fine.

  
A majority of her back was a deep shade of purple and Bumblebee really wished he knew more about the human body. But if she wasn’t crying out in pain and it only hurt when she laid on it, it surely wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

  
As it _should_ have been.

  
Charlie reached her hand over her shoulder to trace the edge of the plum skin, she hissed at the contact but quickly collected herself. “It’s only a bruise. I mean, it’s the biggest bruise I’ve ever gotten but it’ll go away eventually. Considering I got slapped by a giant robot it should have been much worse."

  
_It should have broken your spine._ Bumblebee thought to himself as his hand reached out, his fingertips hovering a fraction away from her skin. Charlie couldn’t take hits like an Autobot could, and even he had been reeling from Dropkick’s hits. An organic getting hit with that kind of force, it should’ve killed her. Bumblebee was incredibly grateful it didn’t but it still made him wonder what made Charlie so different from other humans. _I mean, I don’t think I’d meet a human with a spark like her’s anyway. She’s one of a kind, I can tell. But there’s something else…something not human._

  
Was that the right way to describe it? He knew he hadn’t met any other humans but if all of them could take hits like Charlie then they’d still be fighting the Decepticons.

  
Charlie cleared her throat, her face still warm with a scarlet color. “Can-can I put my shirt down now?” Her voice was shaky, though it didn’t sound like it was from fear or pain.

  
Bumblebee looked down at her bare skin where his hand still lingered, barely a flex of a finger and he would be touching her. And Bumblebee had a sense that, for whatever reason, this was more intimidate than Charlie cared for.

  
_You too_ , he told himself with a shake of his head as he leaned away from her. Charlie covered her back and cleared her throat again, returning her attention to the Conan while Bumblebee kept his distance. His metal felt hot for some reason, and he couldn’t figure out why.

  
He shook his head again, he had enough problems and questions at the moment. He didn’t need anymore, especially if it could damage his new found friendship with Charlie.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next couple of chapters are just gonna be nothing but romantic fluff <3


	12. Chapter 12

Charlie heard the thunk of clashing metal, saw blurs of red and silver and blue. She heard a voice-voices-murmuring unintelligible whispers into her ear. She felt several emotions all at once and they didn’t fully believe they belonged to…her. Who did they belong to?

  
Then another whisper breathed in her ear, a whisper filled with a millions of voices she had never heard before: “ _They need you, Charlie_.”

  
Her eyes popped open.

  
Charlie was curled inside Bumblebee’s vehicle mode, Conan sticking his head out the window as the robot drove along at a comfortable speed.  
She tried to collect the remaining wisps of her dream, but they faded away too quickly and she couldn’t recall a thing.

  
Letting it go she stood up and tried to stretch inside of the small car. She reached over her back and touched her bruise, to her delight it didn’t sting like it had yesterday. But despite herself Charlie frowned, she had always been quick to pick herself up when she was hurt, but this very large bruise was going away incredibly fast. She wondered if it had something to do with that cube…

  
She wondered if Bumblebee knew something was off.

  
She blushed at the memory. She knew it was ridiculous to get embarrassed for partly taking her shirt off in front of Bumblebee, the robot didn’t know about human’s bashfulness for showing a lot of skin, and it was just to check the bruise.

  
She pulled her head out the window, letting the wind blow her hair back. It was a nice feeling, getting to ride in a car again.

  
Although…she did find Bumblebee’s car mode a little obvious.

  
“Hey, Bee,” she spoke up, settling back inside the car. “A while back, when the evil robots first attacked, I remember seeing one follow a fighter jet. It did something when it got closer, it looked like it was…scanning it? I guess? I just know that the next moment it transformed into that fighter jet. Can you do that, too? Because I’ve had a thought: say one of those jets is flying around and there’s nowhere to hide. We can just sit still in your vehicle mode but since you don’t look like any of the other cars on earth…maybe if you could look more like an earth car it would be easier to stay under the radar?”

  
After a moment Bumblebee made a noise of agreement (Charlie was so used to the hums she was starting to pick up his different tones) and came to a stop. After she stepped out he transformed to stand over her and look around.

  
The three were surrounded by abandoned houses and cars that were in less than ideal condition. Bumblebee was looking over the vehicles with deep concentration and at last shook his head.

  
“We should find one that’s closer to your color,” Charlie decided, looking beyond the robot and breaking into a smile. “And that’s exactly where we should look.”  
Several yards away was a walled junkyard for cars and it brought forth a bittersweet memory of her uncle. He loved junk of all kinds.

  
Bumblebee and Conan followed her, stepping inside to see tons of cars of all models and colors, and most of them in decent shape, as if the evil robots hadn’t bothered to come near here.

  
“Okay,” Charlie clapped her hands together. “Let’s start looking.”

 

.

 

Bumblebee couldn’t decide which car to pick. He didn’t know what made one stand out over the other besides their size or color. And if color was what he was looking for, he wanted yellow. He liked yellow, all of the Autobots told him how the color was so lively and just the sight of it cheered them up. Plus being small and yellow put Decepticons off their guard which had proved incredibly helpful.

  
But as he walked down a row, examining the different, clustered vehicles, he was disappointed to not see one yellow one.

  
Just as he was deciding that green was an _okay_ color he heard Charlie call his name: “I think I found a winner!”

  
He walked over to join her and Conan, she was standing next to a small, rounder car and to his delight it was yellow.

  
“These type of cars are called Volkswagen Beetles. Do you like it?”

  
He nodded to her before turning his optics to the car and gave it a quick scan. A second later and he transformed into the Volkswagen, hoping he still looked okay, still looked like him.

  
To his surprise Charlie let out a low whistle, running her hands over his door and hood. “I’ve always liked Beetles. This one is beautiful.”

  
Bumblebee felt his engine turn hot before he quickly reminded himself she was talking about the Volkswagen, not himself. Still flustered he almost didn’t notice Charlie turning away to open the other Beetle’s door, it creaked as she did so.

  
He watched as she crawled inside, her legs hanging out the door. “I wanted to see if there was anything use-OH MY GOD!”

  
Bumblebee transformed back onto his feet, ready to yank Charlie out of the car, away from whatever made her scream.

  
But she crawled out herself, holding a handful of small black rectangles and wearing a smile that nearly blinded him. “Bumblebee! It’s cassettes!”

  
_Cassettes?_

  
“They play music! Oh my gosh if your radio works I am going to freak out! I haven’t heard a song in so long!”

  
Oh, so humans had music too. He was interested in hearing what kind of music they made.

  
“Also, I found this.” With her free hand Charlie reached back into the beetle and picked up some weird charm and held it up for him to see.

  
It was a round, cartoon-y creature, yellow with black stripes and a dopey grin on its face. He looked to Charlie, hoping for some clarification and saw her smile had turned teasing.  
“It’s your namesake,” she said. “It’s a Bumblebee.”

  
_What?_ Bumblebee knelt down and took the small charm, looking it over with a critical eye. _I look nothing like this!_

  
He glanced at Charlie, feeling a trickle of humiliation. _Is that really what I look like to her? Like a harmless, silly little creature?_

  
But Bumblebee couldn’t keep up his annoyance and slight offense for long, Charlie still had that playful smile on her lips and he decided he liked it and wanted to keep it there. If these ‘bumblebees’ made her so happy, he’d take being named after them as a compliment.

  
The sound of far off growl broke the pleasant atmosphere, making Charlie flinch and Bumblebee lift his optics to the sky. It was clear but he knew the sound of a Decepticon when he heard one.

  
“Come on,” Charlie spoke up. “Let’s test out your new wheels and find a quiet place where I can try out these cassettes.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know its a short chapter and I planned on releasing it after I got at least one more done but since I wanna take my time with the next one I decided to give you guys this to tide you over until then.
> 
> Also shout out to my HenshuFangirl for helping me pick out fluff ideas (bee meeting his namesake)


	13. Chapter 13

The trio had driven in silence for what felt like hours, at least to Charlie.

  
In her lap was the cassettes she had found in the beetle. Elvis, the Smiths, even some of her dad’s favorite musicians. She was so excited at the prospect of listening to music again, she had been starting to forget the words to some of her favorite songs.

  
The sun was starting to go down when she saw it in the distance, a familiar outline that she hadn’t been near since before the attacks.

  
“Bumblebee, can we stop for the night over there?” she spoke up, pointing out to the shimmering outline. “It’s the beach.”

  
 He let out a soft hum, sounding mildly confused, before turning and heading toward the water. Charlie guessed if he came from a planet full of giant robots, things like large bodies of water wouldn’t be needed. Or appreciated.

  
Bumblebee found a place where the higher ground met the sand, once there they found a shaded area where the rock of the hill would cover them from anything flying overhead.  
But once they came to a stop Charlie couldn’t resist jumping out of the Volkswagen and kicking off her worn out tennis shoes, running barefooted across the cool sand to run ankle deep into the water. She let out a breath of exasperation as she watched the remaining sunlight dancing on the soft waves. Memories flooded her mind, of her dad taking them all to the beach, of burning sun and sandcastles, melting ice cream and sunscreen. Of the first time she ever tried diving, the first time she felt that rush of excitement and suspense and freedom before she hit the water.

  
Behind her Conan was jumping and barking around, he had only been to the beach once back when he was a puppy but he had enjoyed running across the sand and clearly still did.

  
Charlie turned around, not leaving the water, to smile up at Bumblebee. The robot had followed the two but was keeping a safe distance from the lapping waves. Charlie couldn’t blame him but still, she wanted him to have fun too.

  
“Let’s try one of the cassettes,” she told him. “Pick one, any one you want.”

  
Bumblebee pulled the cassettes out of his chest cavity (clearly his version of a backpack) and examined them. But it was clear to her he had no idea what made the cassette different from each other.

  
Nevertheless he picked one at random and placed it in his new radio located just underneath his chest. Charlie could have started crying as the sounds of the King filled the salty air, bringing back better, happier times. And while she had never liked to dance with an audience she couldn’t help moving her arms and legs to the music, the water around her feet sloshing against her legs.

  
Bumblebee was watching her with interest but didn’t try to dance. She ran out of the water to reach his side, the music causing a swell of joy that nearly exploded from her chest. “Can you dance?”

  
He made a so-so motion with his hand and she laughed at the thought of giant robots having dances like proms. “Why don’t you try it? I wanna see your moves.”

  
And in Bumblebee’s defense he definitely tried, trying to copy Charlie’s movement as she did her own dance at a safe distance. But it was clear he was even more self-conscious about his dancing skills than she was, that and he probably wasn’t used to how human music sounded.

  
She laughed again and patted his leg, “Don’t worry. We’ll keep practicing.”

 

.

 

Before the sun had completely set Charlie and Conan had splashed around in the water some more while they finished up the Elvis cassette and even got through the Smiths one. Though she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t offended by the look on Bumblebee’s face as they listened to the Smiths. “Their music is a work of art, thank you very much,” she had said haughtily but in good humor.

  
When the sun set she and Bumblebee sat side by side on the sand, watching the star-dusted waves lap at the beach. Behind them Conan was snoring on his back, one leg kicking the air as he dozed.

  
But Charlie wasn’t ready to sleep, this was the closest to happiness she had felt in a long time, even before those robots had come and ruined everything. She hadn’t felt this kind of happiness since her dad died.

  
She glanced up at Bumblebee whose eyes were on the starry sky, she guessed he was looking out for any unwanted company but the night was blissfully quiet.

  
“So,” she started up a random conversation, wanting to keep the good mood going for as long as possible. “I take it you weren’t the best dancer back at home, huh?”

  
Bumblebee looked down at her and shrugged, but she could catch the edge of embarrassment as he looked away.

  
She smirked and rested her cheek in her hand, “Did that keep you from getting any dates?”

  
He blinked at her, tilting his head to the side as if he didn’t understand the question.

  
“Surely some of you went on dates and got married,” she insisted. “Yeah you’re robots but, you have a soul. The more I spend time with you the more human I realize you are.” She wouldn’t say his enemies had any humanity, but then again, neither did certain humans. “There’s gotta be couples on your home planet. Two robots who are always together and acting romantic?”

She tried to imagine Bumblebee holding another robot’s hand and couldn’t quite manage it. _Or maybe I don’t want to… I mean, I’d hate to think he has a family waiting for him at home and I’m the one keeping him from them._

  
Bumblebee’s eyes widen with recognition. With a finger he drew two squiggly stick figures in the sand, and then he drew a crooked circle above them where Charlie would have drawn a heart. He added two lines, connecting the stick figures to the circle.

  
“That’s close enough I think,” she replied. “So, you do have a romantic partner?”

  
Bumblebee shook his head, a little too quickly, and he looked a little too flustered by the question.

  
But Charlie smiled teasingly. “So your dancing skills are that bad everyone keeps a safe distance from you so you don’t step on their feet or knock them upside the head?”

  
He glared at her but there was no real annoyance in his blue gaze as Charlie laughed. She really never thought she could have a conversation like this with a giant robot, but whatever wariness and fear she had felt toward him was crumbling away, if not already gone all together.

  
_I should tell him about my encounter with the cube._

  
But as soon as the thought entered her mind she pushed it back. She had a feeling that bringing that up now would break the warm, light-hearted spell the two were currently under. _Not yet._

  
“If it makes you feel any better,” she smiled wryly at him. “My dancing has scared away people too.”

  
The antennae-like stubs on top of his head lifted, as if he wanted to hear more.

  
“Well, it’s not like I really put any energy or time into trying to get boys’ attention. I had a few short crushes here and there, but when I hit the age where I would be interested I had started diving practice. Me and my dad were so focused on that and fixing up his corvette I thought I could go look for a boyfriend after…” Her voice dwindled away as she remembered the gray facts. “But then my dad died…and that corvette is destroyed and…I don’t even know how many people are left alive.” She felt her throat tighten as Bumblebee looked at her open concern. She hadn’t wanted to bring the mood down but did it without even trying.

  
Frustrated with herself she forced to speak through the knot in her throat. “Can I chose the next cassette?”

  
Bumblebee obliged and Charlie wasn’t sure if her pick was a good idea. But she missed her dad and if all she had was his picture and his favorite music, she’d hold tight to them and never let them go.

  
“This was one of my dad’s favorites,” she breathed as _Unchained Melody_ drifted up into the starry sky.

  
Bumblebee’s eyelids lowered as he listed, his blue eyes looking softer than she had ever seen them.

  
With the song like a blanket of comfort and bittersweet memories Charlie got a wild idea to bring the mood back up, or at least to get the sadness out of her throat.

  
She stood up and stretched, knowing this idea was absolutely crazy. “Bee, I don’t know if I’ll ever run into a nice guy, and I don’t know if you’ll get back home to sweep some robot off their feet. But I think we need to practice just in case.”

  
She walked to the middle of the beach and he followed, looking confused but interested. She smiled up at him, trying to ignore how her heart was now pounding in her ears. With the song and the ocean as their music and the stars as their light she reached her hands out to him, “I’m gonna teach you how to slow dance. I’m a little rusty so it’ll be good practice for both of us.”

  
Bumblebee looked from her hands to her face then back again. She let out a huff of air, “Take my hands, Bee. It’s fine.”

  
He blinked, looking a little startled before he obeyed, reached out and cupping her hands that disappeared within his. His hands were still warm, smooth, and for a moment she worried if her hands were clammy.

  
“Okay, follow my lead- _carefully_.”

  
She took the simple steps, the slow dances she had seen at school dances where the couples looked too embarrassed to enjoy themselves. They hadn’t looked like fun at all to Charlie who had played wallflower.

  
But this…this wasn’t bad. Maybe because she didn’t have her classmates as an audience, maybe because it was on beach, maybe it was because it was her dad’s song playing.

  
Maybe it was because her partner was Bumblebee.

  
But either way any awkwardness left oddly quickly and the robot proved this slow dance with its basic steps was much more its speed. She smiled up at him as they moved in a circle, “You tricked me! You’re a natural dancer.”

  
An unreadable hum was her answer as his face-plate shifted into his version of a smile. All the while he didn’t break eye contact with her and Charlie was trying to figure out if there was anything on Earth that was such a stunning, beautiful blue as his eyes.

  
She was so focused on staring at him that she misjudged her next step and tripped on the thick sand, but instead of keeping her upright, Bumblebee caught her and lifted her into his arms. She was shocked as she was suddenly looking over his shoulder, his arms wrapped around her body with her chest pressed over where his heart should be. She looked at him and his eyes were closed, he looked completely enveloped in the music, she didn’t even know if he realized that he was holding her.

  
Charlie’s smile was soft, for the few days she had known him she hadn’t seen him look so peaceful, she remembered she wasn’t the only one who had suffered. And she admitted that she was flattered that she, along with a song from her home, put him at such ease.

  
With a warm sleepiness settling over her brain after the day of running and dancing, Charlie didn’t think anything of resting her head against his shoulder, and even nuzzling into her friend’s neck.

  
But Bumblebee did.

  
The music stopped abruptly and he moved her away from his chest, holding her out in his hands with a look of embarrassment and something akin to apologetic.

  
Charlie felt her cheeks warm as he gently placed her on the ground. What she did hadn’t been a very… _platonic_ thing to do. And she had no idea what robots considered acts of affection. What she did could have seemed very rude to him.

  
“That’s enough practicing for one night,” she finally burst out after a few awkward moments of not looking at each. “I think I should get some sleep. We need to figure out where we’re going tomorrow.”

  
Bumblebee nodded, looking as relieved as she felt as the two returned to Conan who hadn’t budged the entire time.

  
Grabbing her blanket Charlie wrapped herself around the dog so she could use him as her personal heater and used her elbow as a pillow.

  
“Goodnight, Bee.” she called to the robot.

  
Bumblebee had returned to the spot he had originally been sitting in to keep watch, but he glanced over at Charlie and offered a quiet hum at her words. 

  
Charlie buried her face into Conan’s fur, glad her tiredness won out against her embarrassment as she drifted off into sleep.

 

.

 

Bumblebee purposefully kept his mind blank as he kept look out for any Decepticons. He didn’t want to get distracted trying to figure out why the dance had bothered him. After all it had been fun at first, but then he had held her and and pressed her face against her neck and he couldn’t figure out why that made his circuits twitch and his spark flare. But he could guess if he brought these problems up to his friends, say Ironhide or even Ratchet they would have both told done the same thing: Say with no itch on empathy that he was a solo Autobot on a world overrun by Decepticons and he needed to get his priorities in check. And while Bumblebee liked to tease them now and again he decided it was best to listen to their advice.

  
But even with his attention focused on keeping look out, his audio receptors caught the sound of chattering behind him. He looked over to Charlie who was shivering, clutching Conan who was whining in his sleep. Humans weren’t built like Cybertronians, they didn’t have the means of withstanding any intense kinds of weather without help. Being as quiet as possible as to not wake her Bumblebee moved to sit next to her. Reaching his hand out he placed it against her side, hoping his warm temperature would help with the cold. To his delight Charlie’s shivering stopped after a few minutes, still asleep she moved closer to his knee before relaxing again.

  
Bumblebee nodded to himself as if keeping his friend warm had been a mission and looked back up at the empty sky. It felt so peaceful here, and he knew he would hate to leave a place that made Charlie happy.

  
_I’ll find her a new place_ , he decided. _A place on this planet where all the humans can be happy._  
He thought of the dance again, of how much he enjoyed holding her hands while the starlight on the ocean illuminated her silhouette. He had especially liked how, before he had nearly tossed her into the sand, she had looked at him with pure, open, friendliness and affection. There hadn’t been a trace of the fear and wariness that had been there when they first met. Two completely different species, but they could dance and laugh and smile at each other.

  
_Maybe there’s a place on this planet where Autobots can be happy too._


	14. Chapter 14

Bumblebee had never seen a sunrise until that day on the beach.

  
With the air warming he felt comfortable with leaving Charlie’s side to pace besides the water as light slowly lit up the world. He stopped suddenly as he saw the ocean turn orange. He stared in awe as the sun slowly rose into the sky, looking as if it was rising from the depths of the ocean.

  
He felt the sun’s rays, warm, on his body and it lifted his spark in encouragement. This planet had its own unique beauty, and seeing it with his own optics he was determined to protect it.

  
The sun was completely visible, an yellow orb rising into the now blue sky, when he heard Charlie singing behind him. He turned away from the sun to see she was sitting up, rummaging through her decreasing pile of supplies to find the Conan something to eat.

  
She was singing to herself, her voice soft. After a moment he recognized the song as one of the many he had played last night.

  
“ _Wise men say only fools rush in_.” After finding a bag that had these strange brown strips she opened it and offered a piece to the Conan who happily took it.  
She rubbed his back as he ate, her whole body relaxed and her eyes soft. “ _But I can’t help falling in love with you_.”

  
She noticed Bumblebee watching her and she offered him a good morning smile as she finished her song, “ _But I can’t help falling in love with you_.”

  
Bumblebee walked over to join them, kneeling beside the Conan and giving him a very gentle pat on the head with one finger. He looked over at Charlie and wished he could compliment her singing, instead he watched her stand and stretch looking around the beach before turning back to him.

  
“So, it might be a good idea to figure out _where_ we’re going instead of driving aimlessly.” She glanced at their supplies and he didn’t miss the flash of worry in her optics. “We also need to go on a supply run.”

  
It was going to take Bumblebee a bit more time to get used to having traveling companions that needed to consume so many things to keep just a fraction of a Cybertronians’ energy.

  
After packing up Charlie, with the Conan in her arms, let Bumblebee pick her up and headed off the beach and back up to the road. He wondered if she was trying not to remember last night, too.

  
As he walked up the hill, too focused on making sure Charlie was comfortable in his arms, that she was the only one paying attention to their surroundings.  
He jolted to a stop when she let out a triumphant gasp.

  
“Bee, look!” She pointed out to the distance where more wrecked city was cluttered together. “I see a radio tower!”

  
It took him a moment before he saw what she was looking at. It was a tall structure, that almost looked like an incredibly thin triangle. Charlie grabbed his arm, looking at him with exhilaration, “We can use it to contact people! I could try and contact other people, and maybe-maybe even you-”

  
_I could contact the Autobots_. Bumblebee looked back at the tower with new found delight and hope. He looked down at Charlie, optics shining. It felt like they had just taken their first step in stopping this war and saving the Earth.

 

.

 

During the hours-long drive toward the city that surrounded the radio tower Charlie filled the time with endless chatter, and while Bumblebee didn’t understand half the words she was saying he listened attentively.

  
“-I mean me and Tina were never really _friends_ but after that camping trip for the Girl Scouts she _really_ had it out for me. We were out hiking by ourselves and we can across a hive of bees-bees have these painful stingers by the way.”

  
_Do they?_ Bumblebee’s interest piqued.

  
“Even though bees die after one sting they still _really_ hurt so, of course, two nine year olds were terrified of them.”

  
_And they’re ruined again._ Bumblebee really couldn’t get why he reminded her of these fat creatures that died after one attack.

  
“Anyway they were mostly swarming Tina cause she was panicking and waving her arms around. That made me panic and when I saw the mud patch behind her I…I thought the bees wouldn’t bother her if she was covered in wet mud. In my defense they didn’t but Tina _definitely_ wasn’t grateful after I pulled her out of the mud. Ever since that day she had been determined to make every single day of my life hell. And rub Tripp Summers in my face after they started dating. Tripp was another one of my classmates, and even though he was really obnoxious, he was one of the few guys who didn’t seem bothered that I would rather spend time in a garage than a mall. He was pretty nice too, even when I accidentally threw food on him that one time.” She let out a self-deprecating laugh before going quiet.

  
Bumblebee, sensing her sudden sadness, started playing one of the cassettes, keeping the volume low in case she wanted to talk some more.

  
She let out a soft sigh. “They weren’t my friends, but I didn’t want all of this to happen to them.” She indicated outside to a house that had a truck thrown into it, like a Con had wanted to have some fun while it ruined homes.

  
Bumblebee hummed comfortingly, wishing he could speak so he could tell her about his life and his home. He wanted to tell her about his times at the Academy because great _Primus_ if she thought her stories were embarrassing. She hadn’t been there when he and Cliffjumper nearly set the dorm on fire thanks to betting they could hit a target with their eyes closed. Or when he had trash-talked one of their teachers, the oh so _pleasant_ Sentinel Prime, while he had leaned against a comm button that had broadcast his entire colorful speech to the whole of the Academy. Or the time Cliffjumper had dragged him along to a party to help him impress a couple of femme bots, that mortifying night wouldn’t have been so bad if one of those femme bots, Arcee, hadn’t been a part of their team when they graduated. And she had been very clear that she had a _fantastic_ memory.

  
But most importantly Bumblebee wanted to tell Charlie about all the good times he had had with the Autobots, all the friends he had made that he would lay down his life for. It had become very important to him that Charlie knew and liked the Autobots.

  
His ideal thoughts came to a halt when a familiar and awful sound reached his audio receptors. Surveying the area he turned sharply, Charlie bumping her shoulder against his window as he drove toward the closest building that wasn’t completely in shambles. A simple two story house not unlike the one he had left Charlie in before he had hunted down supplies and her father’s picture. But unlike that one there was no sign of any humans, dangerous or not.

  
But there was something deadly coming toward them, the pale sky roaring with its approach.

  
Bumblebee transformed and pushed Charlie and the Conan into the house before he half transformed his body so he could slide inside, grateful for his small stature.

  
Charlie remaining quiet, peeked through one of the windows, Bumblebee crouched behind her as they saw not one but three jets zooming across the sky, circling around the area five times before moving on. Bumblebee could still hear the jets not too far off. They were looking for something. He saw Dropkick, still clearly alive as the Autobot and his friends escaped.

  
Those Cons were looking for him.

  
Charlie guessed the same thing, looking up at him with her mouth a thin line of worry. “Maybe we should stay here, it’s only a few more hours until its night anyway. This looks like a safe space to stay."

  
Bumblebee narrowed his optics, he had wanted to cover much more ground before they needed to rest again. But he knew it would best to wait out until those Cons were done searching the area. Remembering his fight with Dropkick he nearly growled in self-anger, he couldn’t fight just him off, he couldn’t fight three Decepticons on his own.

  
Charlie moved away from the window to examine the house. Bits of the floor had been pulled away, revealing the dirt underneath the house. The stairs were broken and cracked, unsafe to climb. There was also a hole in the ceiling that Bumblebee hadn’t noticed before. But it was relatively small, as long as they didn’t stand under it their cover wouldn’t be blown.

  
But Charlie, after placing the Conan down so he could sniff around, was heading right toward the patch of sunlight that shone down the hole. Bumblebee hurried over to stop here but came to a halt when he saw her knelt down in front of…he didn’t know what they were.

  
There was three of them, clearly something organic, green stalks that held up a circle circle encased by white bits that looked soft and fragile.

  
He knelt down beside her and Charlie turned to him, “These are called daises. They’re a type of flower. I used to see flowers all the time but now… I hadn’t expected to see another one again.”

  
_Daisies_ …he liked the name, and the ‘flowers’ were pretty but…what were they used for?  
Lucky for him Charlie seemed eager to talk more about Earth and its traditions. “People used to buy all kinds of flowers from flower shops, my mom told me about this time that dad bought a bouquet for her that was this big.” She held her arms out wide, eyes warm with the memory. “I told her I can’t wait until someone gave me that many flowers.”

  
Bumblebee looked down at the daises and reached out for one, but before he could pluck it Charlie hurriedly wrapped her arms around his servo. “No, don’t. Flowers die when you take them out of the ground. Let’s leave them alone for now.”

  
_Flowers die too?_ First bees and now flowers, the Earth was full of vulnerable living things. It made him nervous. With his free hand he reached out and stroked the arms that were still wrapped around him. He remembered the bruise on Charlie’s back and was grateful she was more sturdy than a flower or a bee.

 

.

 

“And that’s the big dipper.”

  
With the trio of daisies between them Charlie and Bumblebee laid on their backs, stargazing through the hole in the roof.

  
Conan laid curled on Bumblebee’s chest and Charlie tried not to be hurt. Conan had spent so many nights sleeping next to her, she was glad the dog had warmed up to the giant yellow robot.

  
She was pointing out constellations she recognized, wishing she had studied astrology more. She wanted to impress Bumblebee with all her Earth knowledge. And from the way his eyes stared up at the stars, he was absolutely wonder struck by it all.

  
“My family used to stargaze every time we went camping,” Charlie said casually. “My brother and me would always race to see who could spot the most constellations. I always won.” She turned her head to look at the robot, “You’re from space, you must have seen all sorts of constellations and planets.”

  
Bumblebee waved his hand in a so-so wave and Charlie frowned. She wondered how long he had been fighting the evil robots, maybe he didn’t ever have the chance to do things like star gaze or visit other places. She felt a twinge of sympathy, she at least had care-free memories to keep her going.

  
“Can you see your planet from here?” she asked out of curiosity, wondering how far away his home was.

  
Bumblebee wrapped his hand around Conan to keep him in place as he sat up to get a better look at the stars, his eyes narrowing. After a few moments he shook his head but Charlie wasn’t that surprised, she hadn’t expected a planet full of giant conquering robots would be close enough to see with the naked eye.

   
“Maybe once we get in contact with your friends one of them will have a picture,” Charlie offered before sitting up herself. “You will be able to get in contact with them, right? When we get to the radio tower.”

  
Bumblebee nodded, reaching his hand out to stroke her arm again, his expression comforting.

  
Charlie smiled up at him, “Then we should get some rest. We got a big day tomorrow.”

  
_We’re about to turn the tables in this war._


	15. Chapter 15

The voices were back in her head, several, thousands, millions, she couldn’t possibly understand what they were trying to tell her.

  
She tried to reach out into the blackness and immediately her body screamed in agony, it felt like her bones were an inch from shattering into pieces.

  
_Wake up, Charlie_ , she begged herself. _This is a dream. Wake up!_

  
She squeezed her eyes tight, the pain shredding at her muscles, feeling like it would tear open her skin from the inside out. And when she opened her eyes again it was no longer dark.

  
But she wasn’t in the house with the hole. She was on a cracked road, surrounded by familiar husks of broken buildings, the sky a pale gray above her. She was back in the part of the city where she had found the cube.

  
And Bumblebee was nowhere to be seen.

  
For a moment Charlie thought she was alone, but with her pain slowly fading she managed to turn her head to the left-and saw a familiar red shape.

  
It was that robot-Bumblebee’s friend-but he was alive. Granted he looked close to death, dents and claw marks scarring his crimson body, his blue eyes flashing with pain as he was trying to lift himself to his feet. Charlie tried to wave to him, to call out to him but her fingers only twitched and her voice was a croak.

  
Suddenly the ground shook below her and large shapes loomed over her.

  
Her heart stopped when she saw the jet that had grabbed her from what felt like ages ago. He was flanked by the blue robot she had stabbed in the eye, and the red and white one Bumblebee had killed. But despite the fact they were practically on top her, none of them batted an eye at the human girl. Their gazes, red with hunger and hatred, were on Bumblebee’s friend who had turned his head to glare sapphire daggers at them.

  
_Oh no…_ Charlie’s blood turned to ice when she realized what was about to happen. _Run, RUN!_

  
The first robot stepped forward, and when he opened his mouth Charlie could understand him: “I suppose you think you’re clever, trying to bury our little dig site.”

  
Charlie hadn’t noticed at first but all three looked worse for wear, the red bot had got in some good blows before they had taken him down.

  
He grinned smugly at the jet, something akin to blue blood dripping down his mouth. “Course not, Starscream. You did the burying all on your own.” His voice was rough but young, and the name of the jet sent a shiver down her spine. _Starscream_.

  
The blue robot let out a growl and stepped forward only for Starscream to lift his arm, bringing his comrade to the stop.

  
“Don’t be too hasty, Dropkick,” Starscream hissed. He slowly stalked toward his enemy. “Cliffjumper here needs to learn a lesson. An Autobot can’t go wherever he pleases, especially not on a planet the Decepticons have already conquered.”

  
Bumblebee’s friend-Cliffjumper-snarled viciously, “This planet isn’t your home anymore than Cybertron was!”

  
Starscream’s hand struck Cliffjumper with enough force to send him sprawling across the ground. Charlie felt pain lacerate her head and neck and with a deep sense of nausea she realized she was sharing Cliffjumper’s torment.

  
On shaking limbs he tried to push himself back up, but Starscream stepped forward and wrapped a hand around the smaller robot’s throat, forcing him up by his neck. “We’ll see who controls Cybertron now, _Autobot_. Megatron is gone and I am the Decepticon leader now, I will not leave our planet to rust or to be ruled over by the likes of _you_.” He pulled his lips into a malicious grin and Charlie’s heart beat painfully. “And as leader I am going to give my Cons detailed orders to keep you online for as long as possible, to have you feel as they tear your circuits apart, slowly, painfully. And they’ll leave your body to rust on this disgusting planet, alone and a loss. I hope your comrades remember you, Cliffjumper, because I won’t.”

  
Starscream lifted his free hand, ready to give his enemy another blow, but he suddenly froze mid-attack. Charlie looked around but the whole world seemed to have froze, the two robots standing near her didn’t move an inch.

  
Charlie looked back to Cliffjumper, her eyes widening as he slowly turned his head to look directly at her. His blue eyes glowed with an infathombale light and when he opened his mouth the millions of voices joined his own: _Brace yourself, Charlie Watson, the Decepticons will come for you._

  
Before she had a chance to even process his words Cliffjumper blinked and the world went dark.

 

.

 

Charlie jolted awake, gasping for breath and shivering. Her body was sore and covered in sweat. It took her a moment to realize Bumblebee was holding her arms as if to keep her still, looming over her with his eyes wide and fearful.

  
She looked around, seeing she had kicked her blanket off. Had she been kicking and moving in her sleep? Had she cried out?

  
“I’m okay.” She reached her arms out and held Bumblebee’s face between her hands, she saw her arms were shaking. “It was just-it was just a nightmare.” She tried to remember what had riled her up so, but her memories of her nightmare were fading from her mind, all she could recall was flashes of red and blue.

  
Bumblebee covered her hands with his own, still looking concerned, his face hovering inches from her.

  
“It’s fine, I’m fine,” she assured him, willing her heart to stop its racing.

  
Bumblebee didn’t move, their foreheads nearly touching as he waited for her to catch her breath, never taking his eyes off her. As the effects of the nightmare finally started to wear off she was beginning to notice how _close_ he was and how tightly he held her hands that were still warm against his face.

  
She pulled away with one last shaky gasp, ignoring the way Bumblebee almost looked hurt when she yanked her arms away. “Are the jets gone? I think I’ll feel better once we get moving.” She picked up Conan who had been loyally sitting beside her as she collected herself. Burying her face in the dog’s fur she followed Bumblebee outside, ignoring when the robot would glance over his shoulder to check on her.

 

.

 

Bumblebee played one of the softer songs on one of their cassettes. He was glad Charlie had calmed down, relaxing in his front seat while she stroked the Conan’s fur. But he couldn’t get that morning out of his head.

  
He had been watching gray clouds starting to cover the dawn sky when Charlie had started to move in her sleep, kicking and flailing her arms while she cried out in pain and fear, murmuring words he didn’t catch. Bumblebee had knelt beside her, fear flaring in his spark as he carefully grabbed her arms, trying to rouse her. He hadn’t known what to do, he hadn’t known if this was common among humans. He hadn’t known if she was dying.

  
And while she was fine now that fear was going to take a while to shake off.

  
The three had only been traveling around thirsty minutes when something wet hit Bumblebee’s hood, followed by another and another, Drops of liquid started coming down in sheets and Charlie let out a delighted sound.

  
“Rain! I haven’t seen rain in forever!”

  
Bumblebee wanted to be happy that she was happy but it took all his self-control to not let out a scream of frustration. He had thought the worst the planet got was being mostly covered in water. But the planet had liquid falling down from the sky! He couldn’t drive in this! Not without rusting something awful.

  
He found a short but long building with one wall torn down to show the empty space inside. He could keep dry in there until this ‘rain’ stopped. _If_ it stopped.

  
Parking to let Charlie and the Conan out he was surprised to see her run out into the downpour, spreading her arms out and pulling her head back, mouth open. Bumblebee transformed and quickly followed the Conan who had made a mad dash inside. He clearly wasn’t eager to get wet anymore than the robot was.

  
Once inside the Conan gave a violent shake, scattering droplets on Bumblebee who shed away, keeping his eyes on Charlie as she spun around in the rain.

  
“I haven’t felt this clean in ages!” she called out to him. “Man, I’d kill for a bath right now.” She smiled at the sight of him huddling in his new shelter, “Don’t like the rain, huh?”

  
He shook his head and with a shrug Charlie went on to enjoy herself. After a few minutes of watching her Bumblebee glanced up at the sky, he didn’t have much fear of any Cons seeing her. They would want to stay out of the rain even more than the Autobot.

  
Leaving the Conan to watch her he stepped further into the dim hallways of the building, hoping to find any sort of supplies for Charlie and the Conan. Something to help dry her off when she was done would be helpful.

  
Walking through the brick hallways Bumblebee noticed it was different from the other buildings he had occupied, the walls were covered in colorful billboards with drawings and posters with words he couldn’t read. There were several rooms but they were filled with nothing but chairs and desks.

  
_This is a school_ , he realized, remembering the academy.

  
It wasn’t until he got to the end of the hallway that he saw a room he could walk inside, the wall having been torn open similarly to the door. He stepped inside and his spark gave a painful lurch. The desks and chairs in her were so small, even Charlie wouldn’t have been able to sit in one. The floor was decorated with colorful carpets and knick-knacks. He turned to one of the walls and saw cut out pictures of different cartoony creatures, he even spotted a bumblebee.

  
But it was the photos that snatched his attention, images of humans that looked so much younger than Charlie. Their eyes big and their smiles bright, they looked so happy. He could imagine them coming into this room, having fun and learning whatever it was that small humans learned before going home to their families, families that loved and cherished them.

  
And then the Decepticons came and took it all away from them.

  
Bumblebee felt a wave of nausea and he knelt down, trying to calm himself down. He could imagine all too vividly the chaos and panic as the Decepticons attacked these defenseless organics, he had seen first hand what destruction the Cybertronian war could wrought.

  
But this wasn’t Cybertron. Earth and its inhabitants had had _nothing_ to do with any of this but they too lost everything. These small defenseless humans who had deserved to laugh and smile lost everything. _Charlie_ lost everything.

  
How dare the Decepticons drag them into this war. How dare the Autobots had not done what they should have and searched harder for their enemies, they should have been here to do something. To get these humans somewhere safe, to protect them.

  
Bumblebee had never felt more like a failure than in that moment as he gazed into the faces of young humans who hadn’t even known they had depended on him.

  
So wrapped up in his misery he hadn’t realized Charlie had walked in until her damp hand was placed on his shoulder. He looked down at the human and could have almost laughed at her appearance. She was sopping wet, her hair splayed over her shoulders and her shirt clinging tightly to her frame. She looked confused for a moment before she glanced at the pictures and understanding and grief dimmed her eyes.

  
“It’s not your fault,” she breathed. “I know you would’ve come sooner had you known. That’s the kind of bot you are.”

  
Did she really think so? How far her opinion of him had come. It felt like ages since they first met but he knew it had only been a couple of cycles. And despite the fact she was wet Bumblebee suddenly couldn’t keep his head up anymore, instead leaning forward to rest his head against her chest. The breath Charlie released was hitched and for a terrifying second he thought she would pull away, but instead she wrapped her arms around his head in a comforting embrace, her cold skin quickly becoming warm thanks to his body temperature.

  
“I know it hurts,” she whispered against him. “I know its easy to blame yourself and think you should’ve done things differently. But we can’t change the past, we can only try to make the future better. And as much as I told myself that would happen, that I would live to see the history books rewritten, I didn’t believe it, not for one moment. And then I met you Bumblebee and…you gave me hope, even when I was absolutely terrified of you I finally had real hope. And thanks to you I was able to laugh and smile again, I thought I had forgotten how… We can do this Bumblebee, I’m not saying it will be easy or that it won’t hurt, but we can make it so that all these kids, your friend, my family, that they didn’t die in vain. We can stop this war, we just have to stay together.”

  
Her words and tone were soothing to his audio receptors, but as she talked he heard a soft thumping noise against his cheek, the sound coming from Charlie’s chest.

  
_Is that her spark?_ His thoughts sounded sleepy and relaxed. _It’s so different from mine… I like it._


	16. Chapter 16

By the time the rain had stopped Bumblebee had managed to calm down. Following Charlie (who kept glancing at him with obvious worry in her optics) and the Conan outside, the ground was wet beneath his feet but the sky was clearing and he could make out no signs of the Cons that had been looking for him.

  
“Do you think we could go on a quick supply run?” Charlie asked, looking up at the robot. “I’m fine but Conan needs to eat more often than I do.”

  
Bumblebee nodded, his earlier impatience gone. He couldn’t be impatient with Charlie after she had comforted him, after what she had said to him. Even know her hand held the edge of his palm, he wasn’t sure if she had realized she had held his hand on the way out of the school. But he did know he felt a twinge of disappointment when she pulled her hand away, walking a few steps away to get a better look at what lay before them.

  
“Keep going down this road and we’ll hit that cluster of buildings,” she pointed. “That’s probably our best bet, they might have a couple of stores that haven’t been picked clean.” She ran her fingers through her damp hair, “And maybe a towel wouldn’t be the worst thing to find.”

  
Bumblebee hummed for a chuckle before transforming, opening the door for her.

  
The Conan jumped in right away but Charlie hesitated beside his hood. “You sure you don’t want to wait until I find a way to dry off? I don’t want to get your seat wet…”

  
In answer Bumblebee drove forward, closer to her. He wasn’t particularly fond of water but it was Charlie, he’d get over it.

  
Once she was inside the trio made their way forward, Bumblebee keeping a look out toward the sky just in case those Cons _did_ return. But the drive to their destination was quiet and uneventful.

  
“Let’s stop here,” Charlie say as they passed a small building. He couldn’t read what the sign atop it said but the glass windows revealed empty aisles with random objects strewn around the floor. He also noticed the door was too small for him to go through.

  
He gave Charlie a worried look as she, with the Conan in her arms, headed for the door. She noticed and gave him a reassuring smile, “The store’s empty don’t worry. And if anything goes wrong, well it’s not like you couldn’t punch the window open.”

  
That’s true. He could.

  
Standing outside Bumblebee watched as Charlie moved through the store, looking through the remains of the store. The Conan snuffling around a few paces away.

  
Bumblebee was taking in the curve of Charlie’s back as she knelt down when he heard a sound that didn’t fit. His antenna flicked as he turned around. On the other side of the street was a red brick building that looked similar to the one Charlie had lived in when they first met. Its windows were shattered and pieces of the wall had been knocked off but other than that it was in better shape than Charlie’s.

  
But it could be hiding something useful-or something dangerous.

  
With one last glance at Charlie as she examined a bottle of liquid, Bumblebee carefully stepped toward the building. It once had two doors that looked to have been ripped from their hinges.

  
Deciding that there was no Decepticons (at least none he had personally met) that could fit inside this building to plan a sneak attack, Bumblebee knelt down and poked his head through the entrance.

  
First thing he noticed was the scattered array of furniture, a desk, a couch, a couple of chairs. There was also a set of rundown stairs at the back of the large front room. But he didn’t seen anything alive.

  
Then he turned his head to the right and saw the human.

  
The human looked male, not much taller or younger than Charlie, with dark skin and bushy hair. He stared at Bumblebee with open fear, looking ready to bolt.  
The Autobot remembered the other humans…the one who had attacked Charlie, and wondered how he could gauge if this one was a threat or not. He didn’t _look_ like a threat, he was smaller than the ones that had tried to harm his friend. But looks could be deceiving, Bumblebee was living proof of that.

  
He let out a cautious growl just in case. But the moment he did the human’s optics rolled to the back of a head and he collapsed to the ground, limbs sprawled.

  
_OH PRIMUS I KILLED HIM!!!_

  
He pulled his head out the door and rushed back to the store that Charlie was now walking out of, a few supplies in her arms. Her smile immediately dropped when she saw his expression. “Is it a jet?”

  
Bumblebee quickly grabbed her, making her drop her supplies as he carried her to the building and pushed her inside. “Bumblebee what is-” she stopped when she saw the boy, lying on the floor.

  
“Did you kill him?” she gaped, hurrying to kneel beside him.

  
Bumblebee quickly shook his head, at least he hadn’t _tried_ to! He had just wanted to be cautious!

  
Charlie pressed her fingers against the boy’s neck and after a moment let out a sigh of relief. “He’s alive, thank God. He’s just fainted.” She looked over at Bumblebee and he could have sworn he saw a trace of humor in her relieved grin. “He’s fine, you just scared the hell out of him.”

  
_He scared the hell out of_ me _!_ Bumblebee wanted to shout. _Whatever hell is!_

  
Charlie moved to lift the boy up by his arms when another sound reached his audio receptors. He looked around the empty room as Charlie’s jaw dropped and he half expected her optics to fall to the floor.

  
_What is it?_ He begged to ask, he hadn’t heard a sound like that in Cybertron but it sounded like whatever was making that noise was small, small and incredibly helpless.  
Charlie gently placed the boy back down and followed the noise that Bumblebee realized was coming from behind the toppled desk. She walked behind it and let out a near strangled gasp.

  
“I don’t believe it…” she breathed, disappearing behind the desk only to stand up a few moments later, this time carrying something in her arms.

  
Bumblebee realized it was a human, an incredibly tiny one, even smaller than the ones in the picture. It had a tuft of blond hair atop its head and was looking around with big brown optics. Immediately Bumblebee felt a strong surge of protectiveness at the sight of his friend carrying the little human.

  
“It’s a baby, Bee,” she breathed to her friend, voice thick with emotion. “I didn’t-I didn’t think I’d ever see one again.”

 

.

 

Since they weren’t far from the house Bumblebee and Charlie had spent the night in they decided it would be best to go back until the unconscious boy woke up.

  
Once they got there Charlie was adamant to tell Bumblebee about babies. He was quite surprised to hear that all humans started out that small, even smaller when they were first born.

  
“Even I was this small once,” Charlie explained, the baby making humorous noises in her lap. “If you can believe it.”

  
Bumblebee narrowed his optics but gave up after a moment, he couldn’t imagine Charlie so small and honestly… The thought of Charlie being so defenseless without him to take care of him gave him a sense of anxiety he’d rather not have.

  
“Do you wanna hold him?” Charlie asked suddenly.

  
Bumblebee stiffened, looking down at his hands that suddenly looked too big, and he was horribly aware of how easily these hands could crush an organic.

  
Charlie, sensing his nervousness, smiled, “You’ll be fine. You’ve held Conan before and he’s just as small.”

  
_That’s true._

  
Still terrified Bumblebee slowly reached his hands out, Charlie carefully positioning the baby in his palms that made the human look even smaller. The child glanced around the room at the new advantage before he finally gazed up at Bumblebee’s face. The robot tensed, scared that he would be frightening to the baby.

  
But not a moment later and the small human smiled, reaching his pudgy hands up to the Autobot’s face, giggling happily.

  
Bumblebee never expected for his spark to melt but melt it did, intense affection and protectiveness came over him and he was positive he could’ve have taken Megatron in his prime if the Con threatened this baby.

  
“Aw, he likes you,” Charlie gushed, her hands clapping together in delight.

  
Bumblebee smiled over at her, a new appreciation for Earth and its inhabitants filled him with determination. He couldn’t wait to comm the other Autobots so they could come here and see how amazing and cute humans were.

 

.

 

Charlie was so enamored with watching Bumblebee fond over the baby that she almost didn’t hear the groan beside her.

  
She quickly turned to the boy Bumblebee had found, she was surprised they had found another person her age, and was relived to see him moving.

  
“Sam,” he groaned before he had even fully sat up, “Sam?”

  
“You’re okay,” Charlie was at his side, helping him into a sitting position. “You’re safe, don’t worry.”

  
The boy blinked at her before his eyes widened, he was as surprised to see her as she had seen him. “H-Hi. What are you-?” Panic twisted his features and he looked frantically around the room. “ _Where’s Sam_ -”

  
His eyes found Bumblebee, now holding the baby up to his face so the infant could harmlessly smack his face plating. The boy beside Charlie turned pale.

  
She quickly spoke, “Before you faint please let me tell you that I’m Charlie, that’s Bumblebee and he’s a really good friend and that baby is very safe with him and yes I know he’s a giant robot but he’s a good one I _swear_!”

  
There was a beat of silence. Bumblebee had looked down when Charlie had started babbling, his worried eyes on the boy whose expression was still horrified.

  
But finally he let out a forced chuckle, “Th-that’s nice.” His voice was a strangled and slightly high-pitched. “I’m Memo.”

 

 


	17. Chapter 17

“So, let me get this straight.”

  
The boy-Memo-was sitting with his legs crossed across from Charlie, Bumblebee, and Conan. The baby, named Sam, was held in a protective grip in Memo’s arms, busy with a nap.

  
“You found this robot-”

  
“His name is Bumblebee,” Charlie quickly cut in. Her friend was more than just _this robot_.

  
“Okay…you found _Bumblebee_ and watched him fight this other…Can I call the bad ones robots?”

  
“You can call ‘em bastards for all I care,” she muttered bitterly only to shrug apologetically when Memo covered Sam’s ears.

  
“He killed one of the bad robots and you decided he’d help us fight them.”

  
“Which he will,” Charlie smiled up at him, “Won’t you, Bee?”

  
He nodded immediately, his blue eyes shining down at her.

  
“Cool. And because _he_ decided to help you you’re gonna use a nearby radio tower to call even _more_ robots here so they could fight it out in the hopes Bee’s friends will win.”

  
Charlie really wished he wouldn’t talk like the plan was completely insane. It may be a little out there but it was better than just hiding in the shadows until the robots found you. “You haven’t seen Bumblebee in action,” she responded, lifting her chin a bit. “Or me, for that matter. I stabbed one of those ba-robots, in the eye.”

  
Memo looked at her with a mixture of surprise, admiration, and horror. He jerked his thumb toward the door, “You-” he looked to the door as if he expected that blue bot to be there, before jerking his head back her. “You stabbed one of those things in the _eye_?”

  
“Yep.” Charlie’s smile widened when Bumblebee let out a laughing buzz.

  
Even Memo let out a laugh but it was another one that was more of a choke than an actual laugh. But Charlie didn’t blame him for being nervous, it took her a while to get used to Bumblebee too.

  
“What’s your story?” Charlie asked, nodding toward the baby. “Is he yours?”

  
Memo quickly shook his head, “No, no. I met Sam and his parents after…after the first attacks. I was at the library when it happened and decided to hide in the cellar…” His voice trailed off, his eyes clouding over with a look Charlie knew all too well. “When it got quiet I started my way home but, everything was destroyed. I couldn’t find my mom or sister anywhere. I’m hoping they got evacuated but…but who knows?”

  
 “I know how you feel,” Charlie breathed, her chest constricting. “I couldn’t find my mom and little brother.”

  
“I’m sorry,” Memo replied, voice soft with sympathy.

  
There was a heavy moment of silence, before Charlie went on, “What happened to Sam’s parents?”

  
Memo glanced down at the infant, “Let’s just say we could have really used Bumblebee a couple of weeks ago. Now it’s just me and this little guy. We’re looking for the Sanctuary.”

  
Charlie’s brow furrowed, “The Sanctuary?”

  
“I don’t know if its real,” Memo quickly said in a way that sounded like he didn’t want Charlie to think he believed in fairy tales. “Sam’s parents told me about it, a bunch of survivors are hiding there, collecting food, medical supplies, and the robots never go near it.”

  
“That sounds too good to be true,” Charlie said, dubious. “Where is this Sanctuary?”

  
He looked away from her, “…Alcatraz island.”

  
Charlie would have laughed if Memo hadn’t looked so serious. “The prison…the Sanctuary is the Alcatraz…prison?”

  
“Well there’s no prisoners there anymore,” Memo insisted. “I heard it got hit once and any prisoners that didn’t die just…jumped into the water and either swam or drowned. But according to what Sam’s parents were told the robots haven’t been near there since. And since I don’t have a Bumblebee bodyguard that’s where I’m going.”

  
“And if this Sanctuary isn’t a thing?”

  
“I don’t think about that.”

  
Charlie sat back and looked up to Bumblebee, who looked as if he had no idea what the two were talking about.

  
She had no idea if this Sanctuary was real, it honestly sounded like it was a trick to lead the weak and desperate right to the dangerous people left on this planet. But she could understand Memo wanting to find survivors, she wanted the same thing. And traveling with Bumblebee could be just as dangerous as going without him… But if a bot found Memo he would stand a better chance with Bumblebee and her.

  
With Conan walking over to Memo to get a scratch behind the ears, Charlie walked over to Bumblebee and whispered to him. “Can we take them there before we go to the radio tower? Alcatraz isn’t far away and I don’t want to leave them in case this Sanctuary isn’t real.”

  
Bumblebee was already nodding in agreement and Charlie wasn’t surprised, it was clear he was already head over heels for baby Sam. They’d be safe with Bumblebee. Yet as she thought this she couldn’t help but remember the three jets they had seen not too long ago, wondering if they were still nearby.

  
Waiting.

  
“We’ll take you there, Memo,” she spoke to the boy.

  
Memo’s eyes widened, he looked both hopeful and worried. “You will?”

  
“You’ll be safer with a Bumblebee bodyguard then without one. And if this Sanctuary is real I definitely want to see it.”

  
Memo blinked, “Okay. Cool. But first I need to go back to the hotel apartment you guys found me at. I have baby stuff there.”

 

.

 

Bumblebee drove across the quiet, empty city, following Memo’s directions to where this Alcatraz Island was.

  
He and Charlie sat in the front seat, the Conan lying in the back seat while Sam the baby was put between Charlie and Memo. He was in a type of baby carrier that Memo had used to carry Sam around on his back.

  
Charlie and Memo were immersed in topics that Bumblebee couldn’t really follow. They were talking about Earth things, like what they’re plans had been before the Decepticons attacked.

  
Charlie mentioned diving, how she would have liked to tried for the Olympics and then open up a mechanics shop like her dad wanted to. While Memo talked about how he had wanted to go to college for engineering.

  
Bumblebee was happy the two could talk to each other so easily, but he did feel a twinge of loneliness that he tried to shake off. He should be happy Charlie found a human who could be her friend, he might even be one of those nice guys that she had mentioned on the beach.

  
But Bumblebee couldn’t focus too much on their conversations as he kept an optic out for any Cons. Maybe it was because he had two new humans to watch over but his circuits were buzzing with paranoia and dread. It was as if he could feel something malicious watching him and his mind flashed back to Dropkick.

  
The worry made him wonder if the humans at this Sanctuary could defend themselves against at least one Decepticon. If they had weapons he imagined they at least stood a chance against one of the Con’s less intelligent soldiers. But Bumblebee hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

  
And he hoped that-since the world was so quiet-that he was only imagining that something or someone was watching him.

 

.

 

Burns was going over the ammo in the bag he had brought along while he, Epps, and Lennox scouted. He was running worriedly low and he the frustrating part was he knew an old base that might just have some ammo left-but these robots were careful about keeping guard over bases as well as towers. And he couldn’t risk his ammo or any of the people he was protecting for a mission that might not even be fruitful.

  
He, Lennox, and Epps had returned to the roof to keep a look out for any survivors. And it was Epps who spoke up, “That car is moving.”

  
Burns sat up and following the younger man’s point. Sure enough, a rather well-looking Volkswagen Beetle was heading for an interstate bridge.

  
“Survivors,” Lennox breathed, eyes lighting up.

  
“Hold on,” Burns grabbed Lennox’s arm before he could move

.  
The Volkswagen had come to a stop and he saw shapes step out of the car. Epps narrowed his eyes, “It’s kids.”

  
The two were hurrying over to a large black and white bus, one of the disappearing inside.

  
“Must be scavenging-” Epps began but all three were shocked into silence when the Volkswagen the kids were just in suddenly started to move…transforming…into one of those robots!

 

.  
Thrust felt a delicious gleam of pleasure when he saw the familiar yellow shape yards ahead of him.

  
_B-127_.

  
The Autobot was standing next to two small organics, he wasn’t sure why he would bother with such disgusting, useless life forms, and he didn’t care. All he cared about was bringing B-127’s head to Starscream. Dirge could grab those humans for Shockwave.

  
But it was Thrust who would get in the good graces of Lord Starscream. He knew B-127 was heading toward that radio tower, no doubt planning to call his allies. Which means he was the only Autobot here…

  
And Thrust would be respected by all the Decepticons when he saved them from an Autobot invasion. 


	18. Chapter 18

“See anything?”

  
Charlie and Memo were searching through the greyhound bus that had been left in the middle of an interstate bridge. Since it was the only car besides Bumblebee that was in decent shape and with the door open, the two decided to give a look for any supplies. There was now four of their five member squad that needed nourishment.

  
“Nothing,” Charlie answered, dropping to her hands and knees to look under the seat that Conan had claimed as his own. “Oh, wait!”

  
She reached her hand out and picked up a car freshener that still smelled of pine. She let out a huff of air and showed it off to Memo, “Want a bite?”

  
Memo snorted in amusement, glancing at Sam who sat in the baby carrier strapped to the boy’s back. The baby blinked, looking around the bus with his big eyes.

  
Charlie stood up and headed toward the bus door, stepping out to too Bumblebee standing there, waiting for them. She smiled up at him and lifted up the air freshener, “For you.”

  
Charlie had gotten to where she could tell when he was smiling. Bumblebee hummed before reaching out and carefully taking the pine-shaped charm from her palm. “It’s to help cars smell nice,” she explained before adding quickly, “Not that you smell bad or anything.”

  
Did the robot even have a sense of smell?

  
She was ready to tell Memo it was time to call it quits when a familiar sound filled her ears and her heart dropped. But before she or Bumblebee could react a gray shape shot out of the sky, slamming into Bumblebee and knocking him across the bridge.

  
“ _BUMBLEBEE_!” Charlie shrieked and moved forward only for Memo to grab her arm and dragged her into the bus, pushing the door shut.

  
Through the windows they saw another jet appear, transforming mid-air to lunge for Bumblebee who had been holding his own against his first attacker. But the second body-slammed into Bumblebee and he rolled around the bridge, grappling with the two.

  
“We have to help him,” Charlie insisted, pressing her hands against the window as she tried to keep her struggling friend in sight.

  
“Yeah, but _how_?” Memo demanded. He had taken Sam’s carrier off and was holding the now crying baby to his chest. Conan barking madly and scratching at the windows as if he could break through and make the fight fair.

  
Charlie looked around the bare bus, wishing she had some sort of weapon. “Maybe we-” she looked at Sam- “ _I_ could be a distraction.”

  
“What do you want to do, outrun it?” Memo replied, his voice shrill with panic. “He’ll just have to protect you and fight those two things!”

  
Just as those words left his mouth a shadow fell over the two and Conan started barking wildly.

  
Charlie looked out the window to see a thick metal leg right before the robot bent down and red eyes stared at them through the glass, the scarlet glow painting their skin.

  
“Can-can he see us if we don’t move?” Memo breathed.

  
Charlie didn’t respond, her body stock still as the robot moved his eyes across the four. She took a moment to see he didn’t look like the other jets, his head was shaped like a cone and his eyes didn’t hold the intelligence of the others. But it was still large, her enemy, and very much a threat.

  
And the robot proved it when he grabbed the bottom of the bus and effortlessly knocked the bus onto its side. Charlie and Memo letting out yelps when they fell with the bus, landing on the windows. Charlie’s back ached but she forced herself to sit up. “Memo!”

  
“I’m alright,” he hissed through his teeth. He was on his side, curled around Sam who was screaming his head off. Conan had landed beside them, still barking angrily at the robot who now looked down at them from the bus’s upturned windows.

  
Charlie panicked when the robot slammed its fist into one of the windows and she threw herself on top of Conan and Memo as glass shattered and rained down on them.  
The hole it made was only big enough for it to slip its fingers through, stretching to try and reach them. Charlie kicked at the reaching fingers, “Stay away from us!”

  
A blast of energy suddenly hit the robot right in its head, its hand ripping out of the bus as it fell onto its back. Charlie jumped up and tried to get a look at Bumblebee, he had just managed to fire that shot before the two others grabbed at his arm and forced him back into the fight. Charlie only got one good look at her friend and felt sick. The fight had barely gone on for sixty seconds but he already looked awful, claw marks ripped across his face and body.

  
_He looks like his friend_ , Charlie’s mind flashed at the image of the dead red robot, practically ripped to pieces.

  
Memo grabbed her arm and she snapped her head around to look at him. “We have to help him!”

  
Memo’s face was torn. “I wanna help him but Charlie there’s nothing we can do! We need to go and get Sam somewhere safe!”

  
She knew he was right but she felt like she was trying to swallow a rock as she let Memo lead her toward the back of the bus where the emergency exit waiting for them.

  
But just before they reached it the jet’s foot slammed into the back of the bus, crushing the exit under its weight. Charlie and Memo screamed and jumped back as the robot, now with a smoking head, reached claw-like hands toward them. Charlie pushed Memo behind her, “Get to the front!”

  
The boy didn’t argue, grabbing Conan under her arm as he headed for the driver’s seat, Charlie just behind him, thankful this robot wasn’t as smart as the others. He would’ve picked up the bus and shook them out by then if he was.

  
Charlie came _this_ close to getting snatched by the long metallic fingers she heard a new noise through the wails of Sam and the fight between Bumblebee and the two jets.

  
_Gunshots_ …

  
The robot trying to grab Charlie suddenly flinched and pulled away, turning around and Charlie and Memo’s jaws dropped simultaneously at the sight.

  
It was an army jeep and three soldiers were inside, one of them on the wheel while the other two fired multiple shots as they charged toward the robot.  
Said robot flicked his wrist and a thin canon appeared, Charlie’s heart lurched and she tried to call to them, “Watch out-”

  
Another blast from Bumblebee hit the robot in the back, the force sending him off the edge of the bridge before he transformed into a jet and soared back into the sky.

  
As the jet arced over them the jeep came to a halt beside them. Charlie couldn’t help a twinge of disappointment that two of the three soldiers only looked a year or two older than herself.

  
“Are you okay?” the young one with the messy brown hair jumped out to stand in front of Charlie, he looked her over and Charlie finally noticed the cuts on her arms from the window glass. But…the cuts were smaller than she expected and weren’t even bleeding.

  
The other young soldier rushed over to Memo, looking shocked to see Sam. “Come on,” he grabbed Memo’s arm and started to pull them out of the bus, “We need to get outta here!”

  
_Bumblebee!_

  
Charlie whirled around and looked over to the fight where she saw in horror that the third jet had joined his friend. Bumblebee was doing his best, kicking and cutting and blasting but the ruthless jets had him outnumbered and every time Bee focused on one the other two slammed their fists into his heads and slid blades across his back. Charlie saw splatters of blue across the yellow metal and she wondered if these sentient robots could bleed.

  
The soldier grabbed her hand and tried to pull her to the jeep, “Come on, let’s go!”

  
Charlie looked to the jeep to see the older man who looked around his thirties, aiming his gun at the robots. But they were moving too fast, there was no way he could possibly hit the jets without hurting Bumblebee.

  
“ _No_ , wait!”

  
Charlie ripped her hand away from the soldier and tried to snatch the man’s gun, the soldier jolting in surprise as she fruitlessly tried to pull the gun away. “You’ll hit him!”

  
“Hit _who_!?”

 

.

 

Dirge slammed a fist into Bumblebee’s face, energeron flying across the sky before he dropped onto his knees. Pain lacerated across his limbs and he felt like his circuits were one kick away from falling out onto the floor.

  
The three Decepticons surrounded him, smug glee glowing in their optics. Irritation seethed in his spark, these three wouldn’t be so high and mighty if it had been a fair fight. But fair wasn’t in a Con’s dictionary.

  
“Honestly, B-127,” Thrust’s oily voice scrapped against his audio receptors. “I thought you’d put up more of a fight.”

  
_Come closer, Thrust, I’ll put up a fight for you._

  
“But don’t worry I’ll tell Lord Starscream you went out with…” he chuckled to himself, “ _Honor_. Just like Cliffjumper.”

  
Something cold seeped through him.

  
“T-Thrust,” Dirge was looking toward the bus, “There’s more humans over there.”

  
Bumblebee shot his head around to see Charlie and Memo with three knew humans that held weapons in their hands. He couldn’t hear from this distant but it looked like Charlie was arguing with one of them.

  
“Then that’s just more subjects for Shockwave,” Ramjet replied causally.

  
“Is that your little pets over there, B-127?” Thrust asked condescendingly. “How sad you’d have to fill that hole in your spark with disgusting little flesh bags.” He knelt in front of the Autobot, his smile as oily as his voice. “I think Shockwave would enjoy dissecting your little-”

  
Before Thrust could finish his sentence Bumblebee slammed his fist directly into Thrust’s face, sending the Con to the ground. Bumblebee felt a dry sense of glee when he saw that Thrust’s face plate was dented.

  
Dirge and Ramjet aimed their canons at the Autobot’s head but before either could fire Thrust let out a furious bark, “No!” He stood up on shaking legs and glared down at Bumblebee with hatred. “ _I’m_ the one who will be putting him offline.”

  
He slammed his heel into Bumblebee’s face, the impact knocking him onto his side. Through the pain and his fading vision he saw Dirge and Ramjet return to the sky.

  
Thrust’s shadow loomed over him. “I will bring your head to Lord Starscream. It’ll hang on a stake for all the Decepticons to see.” His hand flew across Bumblebee’s face with biting force, knocking the Autobot’s head to the side.

  
“You’ll never see Optimus Prime again.” Another hit.

  
“You’ll be left to rust like your pathetic friend!” Another hit.

  
“And then I’ll be sure Shockwave will take great pleasure in ripping those disgusting organics of yours into _pieces_!”

  
The next hit was harder than the others, snapping Bumblebee’s head back and he saw in his blurry vision the humans now watching the fight. His gaze focused on Charlie who watched with a horrified expression, her optics leaking.

  
“Is that all you got, _Autobot_?”

  
The cold in his circuits was replaced with something akin to burning flames.

  
“Is that all?”

  
He slowly turned away from the humans, lifted a shaking servo up before curling his fingers into fists. He lifted his aching head up to stare into Thrust’s smug and triumphant face.

  
“ _Is that ALL_!?”

  
In a blink Bumblebee’s blade pierced the Decepticon, buried in Thrust’s face.

  
The Con’s red optics were wide in denial and shock as his arms slowly lifted to grab Bumblebee’s shoulders in a weak grip.

  
_Yes… That is all._

  
With the last of his strength he pushed forward, sending both him and the Decepticon over the bridge to fall onto the cement and rubble below.

 

.  
“ _BUMBLEBEE_!”

  
Charlie charged forward, ignoring the calls of the confused soldiers as she ran across the bridge. Above her the two jets took off, disappearing into the gray sky.

  
Charlie wasn’t chased as she ran off the bridge and started to make her way down to where Bumblebee and that awful jet had fallen.

  
She was relieved to see her friend was still moving, ripping his blade out of the dead robot’s head before collapsing a few feet away from him.

  
“Bumblebee!” she called out, rushing toward him.

  
He looked up at her and her heart ached at the sight of him. His body was covered in thick scratches and dents, the blue blood-like substance pouring around him.

  
“No! No, no, no, no,” she started to sob, kneeling beside him as Bumblebee forced himself up onto his back. “It’s gonna be okay, Bee! We’ll figure this out! We’ll fix you up! I’m a mechanic! Maybe I can…”

  
Her voice trailed off. What could she do for him, she couldn’t even stop crying. He looked so tired as he gazed at her, his eye lids lowering as if he was about to fall asleep

.  
“Don’t go to sleep, Bee,” she begged. “You-you might not wake up again!” _And I can’t lose a friend! I can’t lose someone else I care about! The tower or Sanctuary be damned._

  
But Bumblebee’s eyes did close and Charlie lurched forward, leaning over his chest and cupping his hands between her hands, “Bumblebee, keep your eyes open! We’re gonna fix you up I swear-”

  
A familiar blue light emitting from where her hands met Bumblebee’s face plate. It was the blue of the cube…

  
Bumblebee’s eyes flew open and the two stared wide-eyed at each other as blue light throbbed like a heart beat against his body, filling out the dents and erasing the scratches until the robot looked brand new.

  
When the light vanished Charlie carefully lifted her hands away just before Bumblebee sat up and pulled away from her, Charlie falling onto her tail bone.

  
She looked up, speechless as Bumblebee looked at her with an expression she didn’t want to read. Confusion, fear, mistrust…the guilt she had tried to bury along with this secret came back up, threatening to drown her.

  
With the sound of Memo and the soldiers hurrying toward them Charlie sat up and looked at her friend beseechingly.

  
“There’s something I need to tell you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: *Kills off Thrust*
> 
> Also me: This is for Armada!Starscream you squid headed son of a bitch!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. I haven't been in the transformers mode that much as of late. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long.

Burns led Lennox and Epps across the bridge to scramble down to where the two robots fell, and to where that girl ran after them.

  
_That stupid girl is going to get herself killed._

  
The first thing Burns took note of was the robot that had gotten stabbed through the face. And while these machines didn’t breathe, he could see from the blankness in their eyes was that they _could_ die.

  
“Watch out!” Lennox ran past Burns.

  
The girl stood in front of the yellow robot, she looked up at it with an expression of heartache, but before Burns could figure out why she had whirled around to face Lennox.  
“Don’t touch him!” she snapped, throwing her arms out as if to shield the robot from the three. The yellow machine’s blue eyes (Burns had never seen one with blue eyes before) never left the girl. This girl who didn’t bother with even one glance over her shoulder, exposing her back to something that could slice her in half or put a hole through her chest. Just like the rest of the them did to all the innocent people who once crossed this bridge every day.

  
“He’s not like the others,” the girl said, voice hard as Lennox looked at her as if she lost her mind. Burns was fairly sure she had. “He fought the other robots to protect us, doesn’t that prove it?”

  
Epps glanced at Burns, “Just because it didn’t like those jets doesn’t mean it likes humans.”

  
“Well _he_ likes _me_ just fine.” There was a shadow of doubt in her eyes as if she didn’t believe the words she was saying. “His name is Bumblebee. And we were taking Memo and Sam to the Sanctuary.”

  
Lennox and Epps turned to Burns, surprise in their eyes.

  
“How do you,” Burns addressed the girl and robot, “Know about the Sanctuary?”

 

.

 

The humans made camp a few miles away from the bridge and Thrust’s body. Camp being the vehicle the soldiers had rode in on, Memo sat between the two younger soldiers. The one called Lennox held Sam, making silly faces at the baby while the one called Epps rubbed the Conan’s belly.

  
Charlie and the older soldier, Burns, the one who looked at Bumblebee with a Decepticon-like glare. The two sat in the front of the vehicle, talking quietly to each other. Bumblebee expected he was telling her about Sanctuary, or at least whatever he was willing to tell her, he clearly didn’t trust her. And Bumblebee expected she was telling him her plan to call the Autobots.

  
_Maybe she’ll happily tell_ him _about the AllSpark_ , the bitter thought slithered through his head before he could stop it.

  
Bumblebee had…no idea how to react to what happened. He may not have any experience with the AllSpark but he knew, he _knew_ , it was the power of the AllSpark that had burned through his body when Charlie had touched him. She had healed him, she wielded the most powerful energy in Cybertron.

  
_And she didn’t tell me._

  
They hadn’t had a chance to talk like she had promised when Burns and the others came after them. They had led them back up to the bridge and Bumblebee pushed all his thoughts and feelings away so he could focus on getting the humans away before Ramjet and Dirge returned.

  
He now stood several feet away, keeping an eye on the bridge that was small with distance. No Decepticon had arrived to pick up Thrust’s body. Bumblebee wasn’t that surprised, he couldn’t imagine Thrust was well-liked even by his friends, but best to keep a look out to be safe.

  
Bumblebee kept his optics up on the darkening sky, with nothing else to do but stand watch those thoughts and feelings came rushing back. It was a strange mixture of things, some positive, most negative.

  
He was happy he knew where the AllSpark was, he was even happier that the Decepticons didn’t He was also grateful for Charlie healing him and he was curious to see what other abilities it had given her. But why did it give her these abilities? How in Primus’ name did an organic bond with something purely Cybertronian? And why didn’t she tell him?  
They were friends…

  
_Doesn’t she trust me?_ Even in his head his thoughts sounded pathetic. _What did she think I’d do if she told me?_ His heavy thoughts weighed in his mind for several minutes as he gave many answers to that question, none of them good.

  
A small caress against his hand made Bumblebee start. He looked down to see Charlie looking up at him, her expression he could only describe as fragile.

  
He looked over his shoulder to the other humans. Memo and Sam were asleep, the two young soldiers were talking lowly while Burns looked deep in thought. When his optics met Bumblebee’s he turned his head away.

  
“Can we talk now?” she breathed, almost too quietly for him to hear.

  
Bumblebee thought of all the times when they could have already talked. The day she fully accepted him as a friend after saving her from those dangerous humans. The night at the beach when he held her and music played. The rainy day she held him. But it was only after his spark had almost went out did she decide it was time to talk.  
But he nodded, nonetheless. He wanted to hear what she had to say.

  
Charlie took in a breath and sat down, her legs crossed. Bumblebee followed her lead and sat in silence, waiting for her to begin.

  
“I’m sorry,” she started and he felt some of the pressure in his chest lift. “I really am. I should have told you about…” she examined one of her hands that looked so normal, so unassuming. “Whatever it is that happened to me.

  
“It was the day before we met, I found your friend. I hate to admit it, but I was wondering if I could use him for scrap parts. I didn’t know he was anything like you, I’m sorry Bumblebee. But that didn’t happen. When I was standing by him I heard one of those jets and I got scared. I tried to run and I fell and flecks of metal that came from your friend were buried in my hands and arms. But I got back up and kept running. I ended up at that hole we saw, the one you saw back then. But it was covered in debris, I think your friend did that before he died. I didn’t know there was a hole so I fell in and, eventually, I found that cube. And for some…some dumb reason I touched it.”  
She held both her hands up, her face scared. “I touched it and it was the weirdest pain, nothing I had even experienced, but I couldn’t pull my hands away, not at first. When I could move my hands away the flecks of metal had melted into my skin and my hands were completely healed.”

  
She looked up at Bumblebee then, “I think it’s obvious that that cube is the reason I was able to heal you. Maybe even why the bruise on my back is already gone even though it should’ve been there for weeks…”

  
Bumblebee had listened to her story in silence. She had touched the AllSpark when her hands had bits of Cliffjumper. Did the AllSpark sense Cliffjumper’s Cybertronian DNA and hadn’t realized Charlie was an organic? Did Charlie now have Cybertronian DNA in her veins?

  
Suddenly Charlie’s expression broke. “That cube was very important, wasn’t it? And this power I have…it all has something to do with where you’re from, isn’t it?”

  
He nodded and not for the first time he wished he had his voice. If only he could tell her how important she had become to all the Autobots. And the Decepticons.

  
Her voice was a harsh whisper, “And you hate me for keeping this from you, don’t you?”

  
Bumblebee blinked in surprise as she continued. “You’re my friend and I should’ve trusted you and told you about this sooner. I wanted to but I was…I am scared, Bumblebee. I’ve lost everything and I don’t know what’s going on or what I should do.” She gave him one more beseeching look, her optics leaking once again, before her head dropped. “I’m so sorry, Bee.”

  
Bumblebee searched for the bitterness he had felt a few minutes ago but it was gone now. Charlie was genuine, she truly regretted not telling him. And a part of him could understand why she didn’t, he had been scared and unsure before.

  
She still saw him as a friend, and he didn’t want to break that relationship. Not after everything they’d been through, not when they were so close to contacting the Autobots. _Not when she saved my life._

 

.

 

Charlie was so wrapped in her misery she almost didn’t feel the warm press against her cheek. Her head shot up and Bumblebee cupped her face. His blue eyes as warm as his hand and the relief Charlie felt would’ve sent her to her knees if she had hadn’t already been sitting.

  
He had forgiven her.

  
She pressed her damp cheek against his hand and clutched his wrist around her fingers. “Thank you, Bee…”

  
She sat there for a few moments, his touch feeling up her chest with affection and gratitude. The horrors of the day shaken away with ease.

  
Finally she pulled away and glanced over to the jeep. She had turned her head just in time to see Lennox and Epps turn away. Had they been watching the whole thing?

  
Burns had his eyes on the two. Charlie had convinced him to take Bumblebee to the Sanctuary he had created. She didn’t like the way he looked at her friend but he saw the logic in getting allies as big as their enemies. It helped that he wanted to get to the radio tower too but it was apparently being guarded by said enemies. She hoped he and the rest of Sanctuary would warm up to him after they get the tower.

  
“Should we tell them about the cube?” she asked Bumblebee.

  
He glanced over at the group, dislike in his eyes. And after a moment he shook his head. Charlie imagined that was for the best, with Bumblebee mute he couldn’t give the details Burns would definitely want. And just because they were humans that didn’t mean she could fully trust them.

  
_Not like how I can trust Bumblebee._

  
She pulled his hand closer, pressed against her heart. “No more secrets,” she promised. “Just us.” 


	20. Chapter 20

“So, Thrust is dead.”

  
Starscream stood before his throne, his back to his audience. He tried to summon a slither of emotion for his dead Con.

  
Nothing.

  
Starscream cared for very few and Thrust was at the bottom of the list. He was even under Megatron, and Starscream could have shrieked in delight when his old leader had passed.

  
But he pushed the thought of his former leader down, not wanting to think of the corpse that was being buffed and fluffed by Soundwave.

  
The Decepticon jet slowly turned around to look at Dirge and Ramjet who stood before their leader, Thundercracker and several other Decepticons making a ragged half-circle around them.

  
“And all you have to show for it is yourselves,” he breathed, red gaze going over the two. Dirge wasn’t meeting his optics, instead shaking in his step. He had always feared Starscream. He was always a smart Con.

  
Then Ramjet opened his mouth, “How were we suppose to know B-127 could kill Thrust? We were _all_ fighting him!”

  
“You’re slagging with us, right?” Thundercracker spoke up, his expression one of exasperated disbelief. “We- _I_ -told you he was dangerous!”

  
“And _I_ told you your first objective was to get another human for Shockwave,” Starscream said, voice low and calm. He made a dramatic show of looking around the room, taking in the smug smirks of Shatter and Dropkick, the annoyance twisting Thundercracker’s mouth, and Skywarp…Skywarp just looked happy to be there.

  
“No,” Starscream tilted his head to Dirge and Ramjet. “Not one, helpless, defenseless, tiny, little human.”

  
Dirge had buried his head between his shoulders, deeper with each work as if he could hide his head in his torso. “I tried, Lord Starscream.”

  
“And you failed,” Starscream hissed. “You failed, _utterly_.”

  
“Oh, be nice, Screamer,” Dropkick spoke up, unexpectedly. His voice was thick with faux sympathy. “It’s not their fault their a couple of useless buckets of rust.”

  
Skywarp snickered behind his hand, Dropkick’s single optic glancing over to the Con with approval. Even Shatter smirked but it was more out of menace than humor.

  
Starscream pinched the bridge of his nose. Every moment B-127 was alive and on this planet was another moment he could be contacting Optimus Prime. Dirge and Ramjet had informed him how close the Autobot had been toward the tower that Slipstream and Blackout guarded. He had put precautions in case the humans tried to band together. But Starscream would admit to himself that he could be paranoid and the guard was also to make sure something like B-127 arriving, didn’t end with more Autobots arriving to Earth.

  
He was just about to decide if tearing off Ramjet’s arm would cheer him up when heavy footsteps had him looking up.

  
Shockwave walked into the jet’s throne room. His body seemed to thrum with energy and he immediately had the entire room’s attention.

  
“I need to talk with you, Starscream,” Shockwave spoke up, not breaking his gaze away from Starscream. Something about the look made Starscream want to shiver.

  
“What is it?” Skywarp asked, leaning forward with interest.

  
Shockwave looked toward him, and if it wasn’t for the fact that Shockwave knew everyone, Starscream could have sworn that he had no idea who Skywarp was.

  
“I need to talk with Starscream,” he repeated. Then after a beat. “Alone.”

  
The Decepticon leader waved his hand dismissively. “Leave us.” He glared at Dirge and Ramjet, “I’ll deal with you two later.”

  
The group left with obvious reluctance but as soon as the two were alone Shockwave whirled around to him. “The human girl. Where is she?”

  
“What human girl?” Starscream asked, knowing exactly who he meant.

  
“The human girl who leaked her liquids all over you,” Shockwave answered, “Did those seekers find her?”

  
“Ah, B-127’s pet, you mean?”

  
“So she _is_ the one,” Shockwave almost sounded excited. “Where is she?”

  
Starscream narrowed his optics, “Is she that important?”

  
“I was studying the sample I collected from you, to see if it was different from my other samples,” Shockwave began. “And oh, Starscream. I want her.”

 

.

 

Charlie stood between Bumblebee and the humans, looking out at the outline of Alcatraz. She never would have guessed that people would use it as any sort of sanctuary, it felt so…open.

  
Lennox stood next to her and let out a groan, “This is the part I hate the most.”

  
“What part?” she asked.

  
Instead of answering Lennox walked down with Epps to a small dock where a boat, just big enough for the humans, waited. She furrowed her brow at the black tarp that was inside it.

  
Epps caught her eye, “It’s for if any robots come flying by, they won’t shoot at the boat if they don’t see any humans on it.”

  
“At least they haven’t yet,” Lennox said grimly.

  
“Oh,” Charlie replied.

  
Memo stood in Burns’ shadow with his arms wrapped around Sam. Charlie could see his eyes were lit up with hope and relief and she smiled at him, glad to have helped him get this far.

  
_I wish my family had known about this place._

  
Lennox hurried back up to them, Epps keeping the boat from drifting off. “We ready to go?” He looked up at Bumblebee, “Can he swim?”

  
“Um,” Charlie had no idea. “Bee, can you swim?”

  
In response the robot transformed into the Volkswagen and headed for the water, but before he could submerge himself Burns stepped in front of him, glaring down at the car. “You do _not_ go ahead of us. And when we get there you keep yourself hidden, I don’t want _any_ of the civilians on that island to see you or know what you are.”

  
Charlie scowled and walked over to stand next to her friend, “Why can’t he meet anyone? Wouldn’t they be happy that there’s a nice robot, one whose willing to fight for them.”

  
“That’s not your call to make,” Burns said, his voice rough with a held back temper. “Either he follows my rules or he doesn’t come.”

  
Bumblebee made a comforting hum next to her and Charlie relented. “Fine,” she growled.

  
“Good,” Burns said, not appeased in the slightest. “Now let’s go.”

  
Burns and the others headed for the boat and before Charlie could follow Bumblebee opened the door invitingly. She smiled warmly but with a twitch of worry to her lips. “Thanks Bumblebee but I can’t really breathe under water. Maybe next time.”

  
She picked up Conan who had obediently stood next to her and headed for the boat, Bumblebee disappearing into the water as she reached the dock.

  
Lennox offered her his hand to help her in and she complied, his hand much rougher than her own.

  
“For what it’s worth,” he whispered into her ear when she was in the boat, “I think I’m warming up to your robot.”

  
Charlie didn’t say anything but she felt a bit of gratitude for the young soldier’s words. If only he was the one in charge instead of Burns.

  
With everyone seated, the group making sure Sam and Conan were safely in the middle, Burns turned the boat’s motor on and it moved forward, gliding through the water and toward the island.

  
Wait…

  
“How do you have gas for that motor?” Charlie turned around to look at the motor where Epps sat. He grinned at her, “We’ve had some pretty successful supply runs. Mostly thanks to me.”

  
Lennox snorted behind Charlie.

  
“So it’s only the three of you?” Memo asked. “Getting supplies and saving people?”

  
“The civilians help when they can,” Epps answered him. “But yeah, it’s mostly us.”

  
“I think we’re doing pretty okay on our own,” Lennox defended, sitting between Memo and Charlie, his eyes up in the air.

  
Charlie leaned over the boat, looking into the murky water, “You’ll do much better now that Bumblebee is here.”

  
“I think we’d do a lot better if there was more than one of him,” Epps replied.

  
Burns spoke up, his deep voice ruining the mild lightness of the conversation. “We’ll all be better off when we get that radio tower under our control and signal for help.”  
Lennox and Epps exchanged a look that blatantly said: _If help is still out there._

  
But Charlie glared at Burns’ back, “And you’ll get that radio tower with _Bumblebee’s_ help.”

  
Burns did not reply and Charlie turned back to the water, wishing she could make out her friend’s sunny yellow form. He was keeping up, wasn’t he? Robots couldn’t drown, could they?

  
They were halfway to the island when Lennox suddenly leaped across the boat and turned off the motor. “Jet! Get under the tarp.”

  
It was then Charlie heard the familiar thrum and scrambled to help cover the group, Once they were safely hidden Charlie found herself smushed between Lennox and Epps. Poor Memo nearly sitting on Burns lap with Sam and Conan looking like they appreciated the closeness. Charlie knew that at a later date she would look back on this scene and laugh, maybe even imagine how jealous Tina Lark would be that Charlie was sitting so close to two attractive soldiers.

  
But right then the image of the jet ramming into their boat occupied her mind, there was also the worry that Bumblebee would jump out of the water to protect them and get badly hurt again. Charlie rubbed her fingers against her palms as if she could feel the power pulsing there. She cared about Memo, she was beginning to like Lennox and Epps, and she could admit that Burns’ heart was in the right place, just wanting safety for the remaining human race.

  
But she agreed with Bumblebee, she didn’t want them to find out about her powers. She didn’t want to have them see her restore him like she did under the bridge.

  
_But I would in a heartbeat._

  
However, to everyone’s visible relief the jet flew past them and went quiet with distance. They threw the tarp off and started onward to the island, reaching it without any other problems.

  
Charlie remembered watching a video in school about Alcatraz but she never visited on a field trip. Currently it didn’t look much different from the surrounding city. The buildings themselves, while still standing had taken damage, greenery burned to nothing, any fences or security cameras destroyed. But it truly did look like it had only been touched once, like Memo said. And charlie found an endearing irony that a place that held dangerous prisoners to protect the innocent, was now protecting them again by being a sanctuary.

  
Behind Charlie Bumblebee drove out of the water, transforming to his full height so he could shake the water off. Lennox, who had been closer, jumped back as the droplets splattered over him.

  
“Hey watch it!”

  
Bumblebee started and looked down at the soldier, his expression looking apologetic but Epps just laughed. “You should thank him, it’s been ages since you’ve gotten a bath.”

  
Charlie and Memo shared a laugh, the sound visibly relaxing Bumblebee-for all of three seconds. Because then Burns was standing in front of the robot with fire in his eyes, “Turn back into a car, _now_!”

  
Bumblebee took a step back and Charlie moved forward to stand between them. The older man snapped his eyes to her, “I told you he needs to stay hidden.”

  
Behind Charlie Bumblebee quickly transformed back into a Volkswagen but she kept her eyes on Burns. “I get that, but _stop_ screaming at him. If you don’t want him here let us know, Bee and I will gladly leave you to fight giant flying robots without us.”

  
It was only partly a bluff, Charlie wanted to see more of the Sanctuary. As much as she liked Memo she missed being around larger groups of people, which was saying something since she had always considered herself an introvert. But she absolutely _hated_ how Burns looks at Bumblebee, as if her friend was anything like the ones who had destroyed their home.

  
“I don’t know if you have put this together,” Burns continued, his voice lower but no less angry. “But _his_ kind killed a lot of our people, the survivors here, they lost love ones because of machines like _him_. I don’t think it’s expecting too much to keep your ‘friend’ hidden so traumatized men, women, and children don’t need to see another one of those things."

  
Before Charlie could reply (“ _I lost family too, and I was in a terrible place before Bumblebee carried me out of it. He could do the same with the survivors_.”) the Volkswagen moved forward just an inch, the headlights pressing comfortingly against the back of her thighs, and she stayed silent.

  
“Fine,” she hissed. “You win.”

 

.

 

Starscream stood on his balcony, looking down at the huddle of houses that made up the Organic Farm. The humans there mere dots from this height.

  
So small…so helpless…yet one of them had the audacity to steal what was his.

  
“You’re sure about this?” Starscream glared over his shoulder where Shockwave stood behind him.

  
“I’m always sure,” was the cool reply. “And I’m sure that if we bring that human here she can be used to our benefit.” There was a moment of silence, as if Shockwave was weighing the neccesity of saying the next words. “She may be able to bring back Megatron.”

  
_Over my dead body she will_. Starscream turned his body to face the other Con. “Don’t share this information with anyone else. We don’t want to give hope where there is none. As for retrieving the human…we don’t know the exact corner she’s hiding in. But I’ll go find her myself.”  
 _She could be very useful to me, and if she’s not…I’ll kill her before she’s even in the same room with Megatron._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The next chapter won't take as long" I said.


	21. Chapter 21

This island brought back important, yet darker, memories of Bumblebee’s time on Cybertron.

  
Specifically it reminded him of his first mission after graduating the Academy. The gray buildings and sense of desolation on this island called the Sanctuary reminded him of that Decepticon prison, which he found ironic.

  
Optimus had sent him with a more experiences Autobot named Ironhide. He had been intimidating and blunt, not believing he needed Bumblebee’s help in sneaking into the prison and rescuing one of their own from Con captivity. But Optimus had insisted and Ironhide had relented, leading the young scout to the prison that had seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.

  
Bumblebee could barely remember breaking in, too nervous to make sure he did exactly what Ironhide said and to stay out of the older Bot’s well, horrified at the thought of blowing the mission and disappointing Optimus.

  
But he could perfectly remember what happened after they snuck in (leaving a few knocked out Decepticons in corners and spare rooms). A voice that nearly made the frazzled Bumblebee jump out of his circuits.

  
“Took you long enough.”

  
 The Autobot in the cell wore an easy, care-free smile as he casually leaned against the bars. A stranger would think he wasn’t currently being held captive by Cons who had no qualms with torturing prisoners for information.

  
Ironhide stepped toward the cell, relief lighting his optics for just a moment before he was back in business-mode. “Hot Shot.”

  
“Hey, Ironhide,” the younger Bot greeted before his bright blue optics turned to Bumblebee. “Who’s this?”

  
“Our brand new scout, B-127,” Ironhide introduced. “I already told him all about you.”

  
Bumblebee looked Hot Shot over, remembering what Optimus and Ironhead had said of him. Close to Bee’s age he was head-strong and a little reckless, but apparently had great potential. _This Decepticon captive could one day be the future leader of the Autobots_. Bumblebee bit back a sense of jealously and disbelief. Mission first, opinion on this Hot Shot later.

  
“Step back,” Ironhide ordered both young Bots, aiming his blaster at the cell’s lock.

  
Hot Shot snorted, “That won’t work. Trust me, I’ve tried. You need to get the key.”

  
“Where is it?”

  
“In Shockwave’s claws.”

  
Bumblebee’s optics had widened, “ _The_ Shockwave?” The Academy had taught its students about the many dangerous Cons they would be against in the war. Shockwave had been one of the most dangerous ones mentioned. Bumblebee hadn’t thought he’d have to come face to face with him so soon.

  
Hot Shot gave Bumblebee a sympathetic look, “If breaking out was easy I’d already be miles away, B.”

  
Before Ironhide or Bumblebee could respond the sound of heavy footsteps broke the silence, footsteps that were coming right this way. Hot Shot’s causal demeanor instantly disappeared, his body going rigid. “ _Hide_ ,” he hissed.

  
But there was no where to hide. What little shadows that were in this prison’s hallway wouldn’t mask Ironhide’s bright red or Bumblebee’s shining yellow.

  
And even if there had been a place to hide, there would be no time. Not three tics after they caught the sound of steps, the door at the end of the hall slid open and Bumblebee’s spark did a flip of fear.

  
Shockwave was massive. Much bigger than himself, even bigger than Ironhide. He halted at the door, his one red optic looking over the two new Autobots, he didn’t even looked surprised that two enemies had broken into his prison.

  
But the Decepticon beside him certainly did. The smaller jet’s jaw nearly dropped when he saw the two. “How did you two get in here?” he demanded, he looked down, looking as if he was going over the lack of guards he had seen on the way here.

  
“That’s no way to greet our guests, Thundercracker,” Shockwave spoke and Bumblebee kept himself from shivering.

  
Ironhide stepped forward, placing himself between Bumblebee and the Cons. “We won’t be here long,” his voice was a growl, as if he was daring the Cons to step forward. “We just came to pick up our friend and leave.”

  
Shockwave’s large head titled slightly, “Have you?” He didn’t sound bothered in the least.

  
As the two spoke Bumblebee’s optics had looked down, a key was clasped between Shockwave’s talons. They had come to fetch Hot Shot to do…Primus knew what to him.  
 _I can’t let that happen_ , he vowed to himself. _Hot Shot is an Autobot like me and I need to protect him. Protect him and Ironhide._

  
_It’s what Optimus would want._

  
_It’s what an Autobot would do._

“Yes,” Ironhide continued. “So if you don’t mind…” Ironhide flexed his wrists and a tik later his blasters were aimed at them both. “The key.”

  
The jet-Thundercracker-had braced himself, looking ready to lunge at Ironhide. Shockwave even flinch. Bumblebee didn’t believe he’d ever be as confident in his skills as this Decepticon was.

  
After a second heavy with tense silent Shockwave spoke again, his voice dismissive and final. “I think not. I think we’re done here.”

  
Thundercracker shot forward but Ironhide was faster. Snatching the Decepticon’s arm and flipping him over his back to send him crashing across the hall. Ironhide only had half a moment later to whirl around and block the blade Shockwave aimed at him. The Decepticon was fast despite his size.

  
But Bumblebee had taken comfort in the fact that neither were as fast as him.

  
As Ironhide wrestled with Shockwave, Thundercracker rose to his feet, his scarlet optics narrowed in on the Autobot, ready to attack him while he was distracted. But Bumblebee was quick to step forward, blocking Ironhide from Thundercracker. The Decepticon started for a second, took in Bumblebee’s much smaller size, and underestimated him.  
Optimus and Cliffjumper always said that would be his enemies’ downfall.

  
The two Cybertronians met half way, Bumblebee’s blade already at the ready as he sliced it through the air, aiming for Thundercracker’s head. But the Decepticon was able to maneuver out of the way, slamming a punch into Bumblebee’s torso and sending him into the wall. But just as quick Bumblebee was back up, knocking into Thundercracker and sending them both to the ground.

  
“You little _pest_!” Thundercracker snarled as the two rolled across the floor, grappling with each other in an attempt to get upper hand. But both unwilling to draw out their blasters in fear of endangering their comrades in this tight fight space.

  
Meanwhile Hot Shot’s was quiet, watching with open agony as his allies fought the Decepticons off.

  
_The cell must also have a force field_ , Bumblebee realized as he slammed a fist into Thundercracker’s jaw, knocking his head to the side. _Otherwise he would have shot at Shockwave by now_. While Thundercracker was formidable, the real problem was Shockwave who could fend off Ironhide while still grasping the key tightly in his menacing grip.  
 _I need to get rid of Thundercracker first_ , Bumblebee decided. _Then I can help Ironhide stop Shockwave_.

  
With Thundercracker looming over him Bumblebee kicked out with enough force to push him away, his wings knocking into the wall and giving Bumblebee time to jump up to his feet.

  
Thundercracker looked more frustrated than furious, looking around the too small hall. “That’s it,” he snarled, lifting his arm up and shooting a hole through the ceiling. Bumblebee jumped back in surprise, was he giving up?

  
Thundercracker shot toward Bumblebee and grabbed his arms, effortlessly picking up the smaller bot and carrying him through the hole of the ceiling. Hot Shot’s yell followed them out.

  
For a few moments Bumblebee looked around the emptiness that surrounded the prison, the millions of stars in they sky, and then he was thrown onto the roof of the building, his body scrapping against the metal before the friction brought him to a stop.

  
“There we go,” Thundercracker’s voice was somehow both triumphant and furious. “Now I have all the room I need to rip your circuitry out of your body!” Before the words had left his mouth he was diving for the Autobot. But Bumblebee was ready.

  
Grabbing Thundercracker’s arms as he reached for him, Bumblebee rolled backward, once again using his legs to kick into the Decepticon. Now it was Thundercracker whose plating scraping against the roof.

  
“I’d like to see you try!” Bumblebee shot back.

  
With nothing but the sky above them the two were free to use their blasters and Bumblebee guessed, as he barely dodged Thundercracker’s many fires, was that he was a seeker. He heard they had impeccable aim. Bumblebee moved to dodge another fire but Thundercracker was a step ahead of him, feigning where he would shoot and the blast of power sliced against the Autobot’s chest, and the impact sent Bumblebee down. Lying on his chest Bumblebee had taken a terrifying moment to assess the damage, only to relax a moment later he realized that, while the wound hurt, he was going to go offline thanks to it. But he did have an idea.

  
Bumblebee stayed completely still, forcing his body to relax, his back to Thundercracker. After a few moments he was rewarded with approaching footsteps.

  
_Just a bit closer…just a bit closer…_

  
Thundercracker’s shadow fell over him and he heard a dismissive snort from the Decepticon, believing the fight was over.

  
Bumblebee’s leg was a blur as it shout out and hit Thundercracker’s shin, knocking the Decepticon down. Bumblebee shot up and pinned him down, assessing how close they were to the hole Thundercracker shot out. Through the hole he could see Ironhide and Shockwave were directly under it, the larger Decepitcon having pushed Bumblebee’s superior forward.

  
“Do me a favor,” Bumblebee said slyly.

  
Before the stunned Thundercracker could react Bumblebee once gain rolled over, taking Thundercracker with him, together the two fell through and landed on top of Shockwave. The three toppled to the floor, Shockwave’s key sliding across the floor. Bumblebee moved to snatch it up but before he could a vicious grip grabbed him and he was thrown against the wall, Shockwave’s servo pressed against his neck, leaving him dangling over the floor. Bumblebee desperately clutched the arm, unable to fire or slice at Shockwave. If he released the Con’s arm he would crush Bumblebee’s throat.

  
Shockwave looked over him. “You’re new,” he pointed out coolly.

  
“I’m B-127,” he snarled at his destined enemy. “Don’t worry, you’ll remember me.”

  
Shockwave was unimpressed, “I don’t remember those who have gone offline.” He raised his free hand, a sharp blade ready to drive through Bumblebee’s spark.

  
But then Thundercracker, who had been standing behind his fellow Decepticon (looking pretty busted up if Bumblebee bragged), let out a surprised sound, “Shockwave!”

  
Bumblebee mimicked Shockwave’s head turn and, to his great relief, saw Ironhide and a now free Hot Shot, with their blasters aimed at Shockwave.

  
“Let. Him. Go,” Ironhide growled, the key grasped firmly in his free servo.

  
There was a heavy moment of silence, and Bumblebee felt a flash of fear. Would he risk getting fatally shot to kill one last Autobot? Thundercracker was looking between his ally and his enemies, trying to guess the last move.

  
Finally, after what felt like a millennium, Shockwave released Bumblebee, the smaller bot falling to the floor before quickly jumping up to hurry to his comrades, taking the servo Hot Shot reached out to him.

  
“We’ll be going now,” Ironhide told the two Decepticons, standing in front of the two younger bots and starting to shepherd them out of the door. “Thanks for the warm welcome.”

  
Thundercracker’s optics were narrowed with malice. Shockwave was unreadable. But neither moved closer, Ironhide’s and Hot Shot’s blasters aimed at their sparks.

  
It wasn’t until they turned the corner, out of the Decepticon’s field of vision, and bolted.

  
Bumblebee couldn’t have believed they weren’t chased as the three drove away from the prison. Not until a long time had passed, and the prison not even a dot in the distance, did the three relax. No longer worried they were about to get shot at.

  
“That was incredible!” Hot Shot drove over to Bumblebee’s side, driving so close he nearly knocked into the yellow bot. “The way you fell out of that hole with Thundercracker and landed on Shockwave! I’m impressed, Newbie!”

  
“It wasn’t-it wasn’t that big of a deal,” Bumblebee insisted, feeling humbled.

  
“No, Hot Shot is right,” Ironhide spoke up from where the lead the two. “It was thanks to you I was able to get that key and free Hot Shot. You may be a rookie, but I’m glad Optimus sent you with me.”

  
Bumblebee was warmed by the praise and the success of his first ever mission. He couldn’t wait to tell Optimus and Cliffjumper how it went. For the first time he truly felt like an Autobot-and he was going to be a part of stopping the Decepticons.

 

.

 

“Come on, Bumblebee.”

  
Charlie’s voice brought him back to the present and, still in car mode, he followed her and the other humans to a smaller building off in the corner. Burns walked through the small door and Epps and Lennox followed.

  
“Why are we going in here?” Charlie asked.

  
“It’s our Planning House,” Lennox said with a teasing smile thrown over his shoulder.

  
Charlie frowned and glanced at Bumblebee, he was too big to fit through the door. “I’ll tell you the ‘plan’ when I come back out, Bee. Until then…” she glanced over at the Conan who was busy with his nose buried in the grass. “Can you watch Conan?”

  
Bumblebee let out a hum of affirmation and Charlie’s frown turned up, “Coming Memo?”

  
“If it’s all the same I’m gonna stay out here with Bee and feed Sam.”

  
The two watched Charlie disappear into the building, Bumblebee feeling a strange sense of longing well up in his spark.

  
Memo looked to Bumblebee as he shuffled through his bag for Sam’s food. “I like hanging out with you more than I like hanging out with those soldiers.” The words made Bumblebee happy.

  
But while Memo was busy feeding Sam the Autobot glanced over at the Conan. He was getting farther from them, his nose now in the air. He looked like he was…looking for something.

  
Suddenly the Conan raced away, barking wildly as he headed for the heart of the island. 

  
Bumblebee started to follow, not thinking about how Burns would be furious. Memo, seeing him start to drive off, hurried over with Sam held tightly in his arms. “Hey, hey, hey, wait up!”

  
Bumblebee slowed just enough so he could open the door and climb into the driver seat, placing the baby on the passenger seat. “We should have stayed-”

  
Bumblebee had already started moving again, trying to keep up with the Conan and not going too fast so he wouldn’t endanger Sam who laid on the seat, yawning and looking ready for a nap.

  
The Conan led them directly into a small cluster of buildings, shacks, and tents.

  
And humans.

  
While there were only a few dozens, it was more than Bumblebee had ever seen. And he felt Memo tense up.

  
If the humans were startled by the Conan-barking loudly and making a beeline through the area-that was nothing compared to their expressions when they saw Bumblebee.  
He had to remind himself he looked like an ordinary car, and with Memo’s hands on his wheel it appeared like just an ordinary human. He and Memo cruised slowly through the groups of humans, Bumblebee taking comfort in that Memo looked as nervous as he felt.

  
One of the humans, a male, walked forward and tapped the window. Memo rolled it down and Bumblebee came to a stop. “Hey there,” Memo said, resting his arm against the door and trying to look casual.

  
The man gave Memo a weird look, “Who are you?”

  
“I’m Memo,” he greeted before picking up Sam and showing him off to the public. “And this is Sam, Burns found us.”

  
Immediately the people rushed forward, crowding around Bumblebee to get a better look at the baby. After a few moments of gushing the first man spoke up again, “How did you get a working car onto this island. I know Burns’ boat is too small to carry it.”

  
There was a beat. Then: “I drove through the water.”

  
There were a few snickers, people taking it as a cheeky joke. Bumblebee tried to look past the crowd, looking for the Conan, he could still hear the barking.

  
Finally one woman stepped away from his view and Bumblebee spotted the Conan, tail wagging as a young male human who reminded him of Charlie came rushing through the crowd.

  
He reached his arms out to the little beast who happily jumped into the embrace as the boy let out a jubilant cry, “CONAN!”


	22. Chapter 22

“Hey, Charlie,” Epps spoke up.

  
Charlie turned from Burns who’d been running through his plan on seizing the tower. Epps was looking out the building to where they’d left Bumblebee and Memo.  
She felt a surge of worry, “Yeah?”

  
“Please tell me your robot can turn invisible.”

  
Lennox and Burns immediately turned their eyes on her, Lennox panicked and Burns furious, and for a moment Charlie considered lying and telling them, as a matter of fact, YES. Bumblebee _did_ possess the ability to turn invisible didn’t she mention that?

  
Instead Charlie tried to keep her voice from cracking as she said, “Why, uh-why do you ask?”

  
Epps nodded to the open door, “Because he’s gone. And so is Memo, the baby, and the dog.”

  
He had barely finished talking when Charlie ran past him, skidding to a halt on the grass to see that her friends were gone. _Oh…fu_ -

  
“Charlie,” Burns snapped, him, Lennox and Epps following her outside. “Where is the robot?”

  
_Bumblebee are you trying to get me killed?!_

  
She caught the familiar sound of Conan’s barking and ran toward the noise. “He’s this way!”

  
“That’s where the civilians are!” Lennox called back and Charlie nearly tripped. She knew Bumblebee wouldn’t hurt them, but she couldn’t say that _they_ wouldn’t hurt _Bumblebee_!

  
Lennox and Epps had caught up with her, running on either side of her, Lennox grabbing her arm and putting on a burst of speed. Charlie had to focus on not loosing her footing and getting dragged by the solider.

  
They reached a cluster of shacks and tents and _people_. Inwardly Charlie was floored, people were _alive_! She wasn’t _alone_! But outwardly she sprinted to the yellow Beetle the survivors had crowded around, elbowing her way to the driver’s door where Memo sat.

  
“You two are in so much trouble,” she hissed at the boy and the robot. But Memo didn’t even glance at her, looking at something ahead.

  
Brow furrowed in anger and frustration Charlie turned to see what he was looking at.

  
Her heart stopped.

  
Conan was in the arms of a young boy, frantically licking his face. Behind the boy was a woman and a man, the woman’s hands on the boy’s shoulders and looking down at the small dog.

  
Charlie took a step forward, her throat caving in and she couldn’t make any sound. But the woman still looked up and met her eyes.

  
“ _ **Charlie**_!”

  
Her mother nearly fell rushing toward her and Charlie met her half way, and when she was buried in her mother’s embrace every single problem fell away from her mind. Nothing mattered but the feel of her mom’s skin as they cried into each other’s hair.

  
Otis, her baby brother who she used to not be able to stand bolted toward them and wrapped his own arms around Charlie’s waist. The impact sending the three to the ground where they still held each other closer.

  
“I thought you were dead,” Charlie sobbed, kissing Otis’s hair before burying her head in her mom’s shoulder.

  
“I wanted to look for you,” her mom insisted, her voice wet with tears. “But soldiers came to get us, they wouldn’t let us go, then there was an attack.”

  
“We’re so happy you’re okay, Charlie!” A new voice spoke up.

  
Charlie looked up to see her step-father Ron smiling down at them with obvious relief and affection. Charlie remembered, before all this, how she hadn’t been able to stand the overly chipper man. He had felt like her father’s replacement.

  
But after everything that happened, Charlie was able to give him a sincere smile, “Hi, Ron.”

  
Suddenly the Volkswagen moved forward. Memo-who had been hanging out the window-quickly slammed his hands on the wheel to make it look like _he_ had driven forward.

  
“Sorry,” he called, “My foot cramped up.”

  
Charlie reluctantly pulled away from her mother and brother as Memo crawled out with Sam in his arms. “These are my friends, Memo and Sam. Memo told me about the Sanctuary.”

  
Her family exchanged pleasantries while the crowd watched. Lennox and Epps stepped forward, surprised to find out Charlie was Charlie _Watson_.

  
“Ron’s always trying to help us out,” Lennox commented, slapping the man’s shoulder. By his tone Charlie couldn’t tell if Lennox was being sincere or just humoring him. She could imagine Ron wanting to help but only getting in their way.

  
 Otis, with Conan hanging from his arms, stepped toward Bumblebee. “Who’s car?”

  
“It’s mine,” Charlie stepped forward and ran her hand over Bumblebee’s hood. Her heart ached, she wanted to introduce Bumblebee to her family, but she could feel Burns eyes from where he stood in the back of the crowd.

  
Charlie’s mother furrowed her brow. “How did you get a car on this island? There’s just the one little boat.”

  
One man stepped up, “Her friend, Memo, said _he drove through the water_.”

  
Keeping the smile plastered on her face Charlie gave Memo a look who could only shrug. She supposed, in his defense, there wasn’t many convincing stories on how they got an entire Volkswagen Beetle onto Alcatraz Island. She was sure Burns hadn’t planned to reveal the car to the people.

  
“We, uh…” Charlie searched for an answer. Memo, Lennox, and Epps also looked to be searching for a believable lie.

  
_This is stupid. It’d be easier to just to just_ tell _them about Bumblebee_. Charlie was weighing the pros and cons of going against Burns direct orders when said man spoke up. His voice instantly making the entire crowd go quiet.

  
“The car’s not important right now,” he said. “Charlie, can I speak with you for a moment? Alone.” He added the last word when Sally made to follow her daughter, and now she sent the much taller and buff soldier a reproachful look.

  
“Don’t worry,” Charlie assured her. “I’ll be right back. Can you help Memo with Sam?”

  
Sally looked torn for a moment, but ultimately decided to turn to go and help with the baby. Charlie guessed she was secretly thrilled to get to help, she used to tell her and Otis how much she missed it when they were that small.

  
Charlie puffed up her chest and walked over to Burns, away from her parents, friends, and the crowd.

  
Burns gave her a look and Charlie was already shaking her head. “I know, I know. I’m sorry. My dog heard my brother and must have went to find him. Bumblebee must have been worried and went after. But they think Memo drove him.”

  
“No, they don’t,” Burns replied, “They’re _thinking_ how the hell did we get that car here. Sooner or later someone’s going to realize: If the robots can turn into flying aircraft they can turn into cars.”

  
“Then let’s just _tell_ them,” Charlie hissed through her teeth. “Yes, I know they’ll be scared. I was scared when I first met him, but then I got to know him! All they need is time. And if we let Bumblebee help us get that radio tower it will help win them over!” Charlie turned on her heel, exhausted with having the same argument over and over again.

 

But as she turned Burns grabbed her arm, it was a strong grip but it didn’t hurt, he just wanted her to stay and continue the conversation (no matter how repetitive it was).

  
But it must not have looked that way to Bumblebee.

  
Suddenly the Volkswagen-devoid of any human at the wheel-pulled back away from the crowds, turned, and drove right between Burns and Charlie, making the two jump back to not have their feet ran over.

  
Then there was silence.

 

.

 

Bumblebee was inwardly screaming.

  
_Why did I do that why did I do that why did I do that_ -

  
He hadn’t meant to. He had been watching Charlie and Burns argue when the soldier had grabbed her arm. And well…Bumblebee still didn’t like Burns.

  
Now he sat between the two, both staring at him with expressions of shock, disbelief, and panic. And he was painfully aware of the crowd of people watching them. Except for Memo, Lennox, and Epps who looked like they were desperately trying to figure out an excuse for why a car had just moved on its own.

  
The male Charlie had called ‘Ron’ spoke up, “That car just moved.”

  
“No it didn’t,” Memo and Lennox said in unison while Epps looked up at the sky, as if ignoring the situation would make it no longer a reality.

  
Then the human who had first approached him and Memo took a step forward, his eyes dark and skin pale as realization dawned on him. “That car is one of those _robots_.”

  
Bumblebee had expected chaos but instead the group of people only stared at him with absolute terror. Terror and hatred and it made the Autobot want to drive back into the water.

  
Charlie and Burns looked at each other, and then after a moment Burns’ shoulders slumped with defeat. He threw his arm out, inviting Charlie to take over. She smiled, grim and determined, and turned around to face the crowd.

  
“Mom,” she began. “I want to introduce you to a new friend of mine, he saved my life-more than once-and helped me get back here to you and Otis and Ron.” She turned to Bumblebee and he felt warmer under her gaze. “This is Bumblebee.”

  
At those words he transformed, stretching to his full height and for once he was glad he wasn’t as tall as bots like Ironhide or Optimus. His smaller stature might be less intimidating to the humans.

  
But still there were cries of fear and panic as he transformed and as he looked down at the humans, only Charlie and Memo gave him friendly expressions. Epps and Lennox too busy looking at the crowd, maybe they expected someone to try and attack him.

  
“This is Bumblebee,” Charlie repeated as she stepped protectively in front of him. “And he’s going to help us take our home back.”

 

.

 

That night Bumblebee sat at the edge of the water, watching the stars as the day’s events ran through his head.

  
There had been yelling. Shouts of dismay and disgust as Charlie tried to explain how he was there to help them. Not one human trusted him, not that he could blame them. Burns and the other soldiers had to calm them down and Bee had caught a few looks of betrayal, as if the humans thought they could no longer trust their protectors.

  
_Maybe there was a better way to do this_ , he thought to himself, feeling a twinge of guilt. He didn’t want the survivors to hate the soldiers because of him.

  
He didn’t want Charlie’s family to hate him.

  
He had been so choked up with emotion when he watched Charlie reunite with her family that she had thought were gone forever. He was so happy for her, but even that thought was tinted with bitterness. Memo’s family wasn’t there, Sam’s family was dead, and Charlie’s family trusted him as far as they could throw him.

  
_All of this because of the Decepticons_ , his thoughts were a low growl as he glared at the stars. All this because they wanted the AllSpark and Megatron. Well, they had the former Decepticon leader-his mind flashed to an image of Charlie-but they weren’t getting the AllSpark.

  
Some time had passed, it was getting late, when he heard footsteps.

  
He turned to see Charlie walking over to him, a soft smile on her face. “Everyone’s calmed down,” she told him. "Mom wanted me to spend the time with them but I slipped out when they fell asleep. I wanted to see how you were doing.” Her optics were concerned, “Are you okay?”

  
He nodded, he hadn’t expected the Sanctuary to welcome him with open arms.

  
Charlie stood by his side, resting her hand on his knee. “You should’ve seen Conan. I thought his tail would break he was wagging it so hard.” She took in a shuddering breath and gazed up at him, “It’s thanks to you we both came back to Mom and Otis. Thank you so much, Bumblebee. I’ll never be able to repay you for this.”

  
Repay? Charlie was his friend. He’d do anything for her, no pay required.

  
Worried the night air would be too cold for her Bumblebee gently picked her up and placed her on his lap. She didn’t hesitate to lean against his chest and his spark thumped. He was happier than he could explain that she was so comfortable with him.

  
“Burns will probably want us to go to the tower soon,” she said. “Well, he’ll want you I’ll have to sneak there.”

  
Bumblebee hummed, he didn’t know if he liked Charlie going into dangerous situations. Yes, she had the AllSpark but neither of them knew how to wield it or use it as an offense.

  
“I don’t want to leave you to fight,” she replied. “I was…I was really scared when you had to fight those three jets. I thought I was going to lose you.”

  
In response Bumblebee wrapped his arms around her and pressed his face against the top of her head, closing his optics. Charlie made an appreciate noise under him, her muscles slack.

  
She was warm and soft and felt so fragile. He remembered the beat of her spark and his own seemed to thrum in response to the memory. Could sparks even do that?

  
“It’s gonna be okay, Bee,” she breathed. “We’re going to get that tower back and everyone will love you and we’ll stop those robots and then…what will happen then?”

  
Bumblebee knew the end of this war was too far away for him to fantasize about the ending. He lifted his head and found his fingers running through her hair, such an alien thing hair was, but incredibly endearing. It was small moments like this that he drew strength from to keep going until his happily ever after was finally in sight.

  
“I’m going to find you a garden,” Charlie finally decided, leaning into his hand almost unwittingly.

 

“We’ll find so many flowers you can pick as many as you want. And maybe we’ll even find some real life bumblebees.”

  
_Oh, joy_ , he thought but there was no real irritation in his mind, more exasperated amusement. Charlie showing him the sights of Earth…that did sound nice.

  
Charlie seemed to notice his hand, running her own fingers across his hand. He stilled for a moment, wondering if she was going to push his hand away. But no, instead she used her free hand to reach out for his other arm, taking it and doing her best to interlace their fingers, despite the size difference.

  
“I know you’re made of metal,” she began, gazing at their intertwined hands and Bumblebee desperately wished he knew what she was thinking. “But you feel so…alive. Which I guess makes sense since you are alive.” She chuckled, sounding slightly high-strung. Bumblebee took the moment to slid his fingers from her hair and move his hand down her arm and side, partly because her skin was starting to feel a little chilled, partly because he couldn’t get over how different humans felt compared to Cybertronians.

  
_But it’s a nice different._

  
Charlie looked to be falling asleep as she leaned her back against his chest, his hand moving from her dainty ribs to her stomach, he took note her skin was losing its chill and getting warmer.

  
Bumblebee was unsure how much time had passed when Charlie pulled her hand away and slid off his lap, but his spark strangely ached when it did happen.

  
“I need to go get some sleep,” she yawned. “I got to be well-rested so I can help you make some new friends tomorrow.”


	23. Chapter 23

If Charlie was certain of one thing, it was much easier to win over kids than it was adults.

  
With a plan in mind she woke up in a pile of covers in the shack her family had been staying in. Her mother and Ron were still asleep, and Memo was on the other side of the shack (Sally and Ron having invited him to stay with them), Sam laying beside him with his eyes wide open, looking around.

  
Charlie sat up and stretched, her skin still warm from where Bumblebee had caressed her, and moved to shake Otis awake.

  
“Hm-what?” he said groggily, lifting his head up. Otis was curled up at his feet. “What is it?”

  
“Get up,” she breathed, careful to not wake her mother up. “You, me and Sam are going to go see Bumblebee.”

  
Otis was immediately wide awake but he did not look fond of the idea. “Uh…I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Charlie…”

  
 “Don’t be a wuss.” Charlie turned away to shake Memo awake. He mumbled unintelligible and looked up at her.

  
“Can I borrow Sam?”

  
“Yeah, yeah sure, go ahead.” Memo immediately fell back asleep. 

  
Charlie picked up Sam, cooing at the smiling infant while Otis forced himself to his feet, Conan in his own arms.

  
She nodded to the door and led her brother outside to her friend.

  
To Charlie’s relief Burns and the others weren’t near the robot when we reached him, Otis being sure he was directly behind Charlie as she walked up to him.

  
“I want him to make new friends,” she explained to Otis. “And if we’re _both_ his friends, then Mom will be his friend and then so on and so forth.”

  
“And if he blasts us?”

  
“He won’t do that. He’s not like the others.”

  
Bumblebee buzzed with delight when they reached him, eyes shining. He knelt down in front of Charlie and extended a finger to Sam who grabbed it with delight, babbling nonsense. Even Conan squirmed out of Otis’s arms and hurried over to jump at Bee’s leg. With his other hand the robot scratched the dog behind the ears, in response Conan fell onto his back and Bee rubbed his belly.

  
“Bumblebee,” she began, stepping aside to reveal the boy behind her, “This is my brother, Otis. You two met yesterday. Say hi, Otis.”

  
The boy gave an awkward wave, “H-Hey.”

  
Bumblebee pulled his hand away from Sam to offer his own, equally awkward, wave. The greeting was followed by an equally awkward silence.

  
“So… He can’t talk?” Otis asked his sister.

  
“I think he could. But when we first met he fought one of those jets to save me. He killed it but not before it messed his throat up.” She walked over and pressed her hand against Bumblebee’s neck. She could see the small cavern where his voice box used to be. She had hoped her new healing powers would help him, but it didn’t appear it could conjure items out of thin air.

  
Bumblebee blinked warmly down at her and Charlie pulled away, hoping Otis wouldn’t notice her red cheeks. “Otis is a yellow belt.”

  
“I’m a _black_ belt,” her brother spoke up, oozing offense. “For karate,” he explained to Bumblebee as an after thought.

 

“It’s a type of fighting style,” Charlie added.

  
Bumblebee hummed and then looked at Otis expectantly. After a few moments of nothing he waved his hand at Otis as if indicating that he wanted the boy to go on.

  
“Show him your moves, Otis,” Charlie smirked. Sam clapped his hands in agreement.

  
Now it was Otis who had red cheeks. Charlie bit back a laugh and stepped back as her brother started moving around, making poses and kicks and punches. Bumblebee gave him his entire attention, Conan sitting beside him with his tail wagging, and the sight made Charlie’s heart lift.

  
“Charlie? Otis?”

  
Charlie saw her mother coming up the rise, halting when she saw her son showing off karate kicks to a robot. Charlie tightened her grip around Sam and hurried over to her, “Hey, Mom!”

  
 Sally hugged her daughter real quick, “You two weren’t there when I woke up. Please don’t do that to me, Charlie I couldn’t survive if I lost you again.”

  
“Sorry,” Charlie apologized, meaning it, “But I didn’t think you’d let me take Otis over to meet Bumblebee.” 

  
Charlie watched the two as Otis, getting more comfortable, starting animatedly explaining the move he was currently showing the robot. Bumblebee listened attentively, his eyes bright with humor.

  
Charlie glanced at her mother whose eyes were on here instead of Otis. “What is it?”

  
“Nothing I just…” Sally had an unreadable expression. “I just never seen you smile at someone like that.”

  
Charlie hoped she wasn’t blushing. “Well, I’ve never met someone like Bumblebee.”

  
“Yeah, okay, give me the baby.” She reached out for Sam and Charlie let her have him.

  
“Is he the only kid besides Otis?” Charlie asked, she hadn’t had a chance to meet everyone yet.

  
“Sam’s the youngest,” Sally replied, cooing to the baby. “There’s a couple of toddlers and kids Otis’s age.”

  
“Can we see if they’ll come meet Bumblebee,” Charlie asked hopefully. “If the kids get to know him that’ll help the adults get used to him. Plus, I think he deserves to meet the people he’s risking his life for.”

  
Sally gave her an uncertain look. “I don’t have that much authority, Charlie. I don’t think I can convince the parents to let their kids near it- _him_.”

  
Before Charlie could reply Otis and Bumblebee (Conan trotting behind), walking over to them. Otis had grabbed one of the robot’s fingers and was trying to lead him back to the middle of the island.

  
“Where are you two going?” Charlie asked.

  
“I ran out of moves but I think Joey did some Tai Quan Dao, he can show Bee!”

  
Sally used her free arm to grab Otis by his collar as he tried to pass. “Hold on, you. You know people are still scared of-” she glanced up at the robot- “Of…Bumblebee. He can’t just march over there.”

  
“But I want to show him to my friends!” Otis whined.

  
Charlie reached over and wrapped her arms around Bumblebee’s hand, smiling down at her brother. “What if you help me bring your friends to Bee?”

 

.

 

Bumblebee was left on the beach as Charlie and her family went to find children willing to meet him.

  
His spark was fizzy with nerves and excitement, his time with Otis had went well. He had a very hyper active and confident energy, he found Charlie a bit more calm. But they had the same smile.

  
Meeting Otis and the other children would be an important step for both species, to build a relationship between Autobots and humans.

  
And he would like to do it before Burns got back. He, Lennox, and Epps had visited him earlier that morning, telling him they were going to get a lay out of the tower, and if things go according to plan they would go and try to seize it soon. Bumblebee would be ready when they did.

  
Charlie appeared over the rise, the sun shining through her hair as she smiled down at him. Bumblebee’s spark did the happy jump it always did when Charlie was in his line of vision. Following her was Otis, who ran past his sister, the Conan at his heels.

  
Behind them was a small group of children and a few adults, all looking nervous and anxious as they got closer. Bumblebee noticed that some of the children were as young as those in the pictures he had seen in the school. That felt so long ago.

  
_But these ones are okay…and I’ll keep them safe_.

  
“Joey, come here!” Otis was standing next to Bumblebee. Charlie beside him. “Show him your Tai Quan Dao!”

  
“Uh…” a boy with sandy blond hair took a tentative step forward, his wide eyes on Bumblebee. “I don’t know, Otis…”

  
Charlie suddenly moved away, walking over to her mother who held Sam. “Let me see the baby, Mom.”

  
Instantly the few other adults spoke up:

  
“Are you crazy?!”

  
“Don’t let that thing near a _baby_!”

  
“It’s too dangerous!”

  
Charlie gave them a level glare, “Bumblebee has been with Sam longer than any of you. They like each other.”

  
Bumblebee tried to ignore the sting of the words and how reluctant Charlie’s mother looked as she let her daughter take the baby.

  
But as Sam saw that he was being taken over to Bumblebee his optics lit up and he flapped his arms happily.

  
Bumblebee knelt down, his face plate shifting into a smile as the baby reached out to him and placed his chubby hands on his face.

  
“See?” Charlie smiled over her shoulder at the crowd. “If a baby can get along with him, you all can.”

  
While the adults were visibly relieved that nothing bad had happened, none looked eager to get any closer. But a small female, smaller than Otis, her hair wild and curly, ran over. The woman who must have been her mother, let out a yelp of panic and gave chase.

  
Bumblebee jumped back, startled, as the girl slammed her hands against his knee. Her big bright optics looked at Charlie with intensity. “Is he a real bumblebee?”

  
“Oh _yeah_ ,” Charlie smirked and gave the robot a sly look. “He’s _just_ like a bumblebee.”

  
Bumblebee narrowed his optics. Was she being serious or did she know how much the thought offended him and decided to be a tease?

  
“I _love_ bumblebees!” the little girl insisted with a passion that matched Prime’s desire to beat the Decepticons. “Look how big he is, Momma!”

  
“I can see, sweetie.” The mother stood close by, her optics never leaving Bumblebee. But as scared as she was, Bumblebee noticed the smallest drop of her shoulders as she slowly began to relax.

 

.

 

By the time the soldiers returned, they were shocked to see children crawling all over Bumblebee, treating the sitting robot like a playground. In front of him Charlie’s brother and another boy were showing off martial arts moves.

  
Charlie, standing a few feet away with a triumphant expression on her face, noticed Burns and the others and walked over, her triumph turning into smugness.

  
“Would you look at that,” Charlie grinned at Burns, waving her arm to the robot and children. “They like him.”

  
Burns rolled his eyes and walked off, “He needs to be ready for tomorrow.”

  
Charlie looked to Lennox and Epps who looked both excited and nervous.

  
“So there’s only two robots guarding the tower,” Epps began. “One a helicopter, the other a jet.”

  
“And we’re thinking Bee can lead them away long enough for us to send out an SOS,” Lennox added.

  
“Of course he can!” Charlie’s chest wanted to burst. They could find more survivors, maybe even contact Bumblebee’s friends. And the two soldiers eyes were practically sparking with hope.

  
“We got this then?” Lennox asked her.

  
Charlie looked over to Bumblebee who was giving Conan a scratch. “As long as we have Bumblebee, we got this.”

  
“Great,” Epps walked over and linked their arms together. “Then let’s celebrate.”

 

.

 

Charlie and Lennox explained to Bumblebee the plan for tomorrow. He agreed to being a distraction to the two Decepticons and hoped they wouldn’t try to call in reinforcements.

  
Bumblebee planned to do more than distract. He needed to put them offline. Only then could he return to the tower and send out a message to the Autobots.

  
It would be difficult but Bumblebee hadn’t felt this confident in a long time. They could do this. _He_ could do this.

  
But that night the humans wanted to celebrate.

  
“We haven’t had good news like this in a while,” Lennox explained to Bumblebee as he walked into the room he and Epps shared. “I figure a little music, a little dancing, we deserve a good time.”

  
He walked back out with a strange device in his hands. “This is a guitar, it’s an instrument you make music with. I figure since Charlie will be too busy to ask for a dance I’d just see if I can still play.” He gave Bumblebee a wink and the robot tilted his head. He wasn’t sure why Lennox was getting at.

  
The human caught on to his confusion and rolled his eyes, “I know you’re an alien robot, Bee. But you _had_ to have noticed how Charlie never takes her eyes off you. You know what that means.”

  
Bumblebee blinked and Lennox’s teasing expression turned into pity. “Oh, buddy. Well…I don’t know if I’m the one to have the _talk_ with you. How about we ask Epps to do it after we get that radio tower.”

  
Bumblebee nodded as he followed Lennox back to where the party was. He considered trying to figure out what Lennox meant, but it sounded like a distraction he didn’t need right now.

 

.

 

Starlight shone in the sky as the people danced around.

  
Bumblebee’s reputation went up when they found out he could play music, and a few brought him new cassettes that they had kept. Right now he was playing a more livelier song, watching the adults grab dancing partners and the children twirling in clumsy circles. But Bumblebee’s optics kept going back to Charlie, who was currently dancing around with her brother. She looked so happy, eyes sparkling, smile wide.

  
He looked around and spotted Lennox and Epps sitting not too far away, Lennox messing with the strings on his guitar while it looked like Epps was ribbing him about it. Memo walked over to join them and started to talk, his voice low. Once in a while their eyes would turn to Charlie, expressions admirable and Bumblebee wondered if she would look at any of them like that? And he wondered how he would feel about it. She did say she wanted to meet someone nice, and the three were nice he liked them. Memo was friendly, he found Lennox amusing even if he didn’t know what he was saying, and Epps was calm and collected, reminding Bumblebee of his superiors back on Cybertron. They were all good, but Bumblebee couldn’t make himself get up and try and play matchmaker.

  
Charlie had left Otis to spend time with his friends and she started to look around. The Autobot felt his spark quake, imagining her smile at Memo or Lennox or Epps. But her eyes went right past them and landed on Bumblebee. Her smile grew.

  
She hurried over to Bumblebee and held her hands out to him.

  
“Wanna show ‘em how it’s done?”

  
Maybe Bumblebee should have hesitated before he grabbed her hands. But he didn’t, he was all too happy to stand up with her and let her take the lead. The music between them as they danced around the crowd. But Bumblebee’s surroundings faded until all he saw was Charlie, her brown optics drowning him.

  
He didn’t want to break the surface.

 

.

 

Starscream flew low in the dark sky, looking for any sign of B-127 or that human girl.

  
As he searched he made plans on how to hide the human girl from Shockwave. It would be difficult to figure out how to use the AllSpark’s power without his help. But if Shockwave got a hold of her he’d use her to revive Megatron because that was the ‘logical’ choice.

  
And that wasn’t going to happen.

  
But he had barely gotten any ground covered when he heard a voice over his comm link.

  
“What is it Skywarp?” Starscream asked before the other Con could speak. Only Skywarp would comm him after he had asked the Decepticons not to comm him while he was out.  
“Starscream, I-”

  
“ _Lord_ Starscream.”

  
“Yeah, Lord Starscream! I-I was just flying around and uh, well you uh…you need to come see this.”

  
“I’m busy, Skywarp. I told you this.”

  
“No, Lord Starscream. You need to see this.”

  
Skywarp sounded scared, and even more strangely, serious. Cursing under his breath Starscream turned away from his search. “Where are you?”

 

 


	24. Chapter 24

_Slipstream and Blackout._

  
That was the two Decepticons that were guarding the radio tower. Slipstream lazing flying in circles and Blackout standing at the base. Bumblebee was several yards away in car mode. Charlie, Burns, Lennox, and Epps on either side of him, armed and ready.

  
A few hours ago they had left the survivors, huddled in their houses and told to stay put until they come back. What the soldiers hadn’t planned was Charlie sneaking into Bumblebee’s trunk and going with them when they left. Bumblebee hadn't been crazy about her idea but it turned out Charlie was very good at persuasion. 

  
Saying Burns was mad when he found out she had tagged along was an understatement. But he was too impatient to take Charlie back to the Sanctuary and instead gave her a small hand gun he had brought along.

  
“Do as I say when I say it,” Burns had ordered. Charlie had promised she would but the man hadn’t looked convinced.

  
Now the four went to hide, leaving it to Bumblebee to do his job and get the Cons away. Once they were away they would get the chance to get the tower and send out a broadcast. Bumblebee could try the same after he got rid of the Cons.

  
Bracing himself for the upcoming fight Bumblebee zoomed forward, out of his hiding spot and straight to the tower.

  
It was Blackout who noticed him first, quickly transforming and looking incredibly startled at the sight of the Autobot. But before he could react Bumblebee transformed, threw a blast at him and two more up at Slipstream. All three hits met their mark but didn’t do any fatal damage. Bumblebee turned on his heel and transformed, skirting away. To his relief the Cons gave chase as he led them away, away from the tower. Away from the humans.

  
_Good luck you four._

 

.

 

Charlie, feeling shaky with the weight of the gun, let Epps grab her arm and lead her to the tower, Burns and Lennox ahead.

  
The latter ran to the small room connected to the radio tower and tried the door, “It’s locked!”

  
In response Burns kicked the door, breaking it off its hinges. “Get inside.” He and Epps ran in, Charlie glanced in to see a table of buttons and levers and a couple of screens. Nothing she understood.

  
Stepping back she turned to where Bumblebee had disappeared, followed by the two other robots. She hoped he was doing okay. Memories of the last fight caused her stomach to tighten with anxiety. What if the got the better of him and he couldn’t get back for her to heal him?

  
“Did you see that?”

  
Lennox’s question made Charlie turn around to see the soldier looking up at the radio tower.

  
“See what?”

  
“There was…” Lennox hesitated, his eyes narrowed, “Something…” 

  
“It couldn’t be an extra robot,” Charlie pointed out. “They’re too big to hide on top of it.”

  
“Yeah…yeah, you’re right.” Lennox turned to look at where Epps and Burns were still inside the small, square building, trying to start up a transmitter. “Almost ready?”

  
Charlie was too busy looking over the radio tower to hear the reply. She could feel malignant eyes on her, reminding her of all the evil robots she had meant up until now.  
If she had blinked just a moment sooner she would have missed the flash of shadow, the flick of something long and sharp at the tip, aimed right at Lennox.

  
Charlie was already moving as the words came out of her mouth: “WATCH OUT!” and she knocked into Lennox moving him the few paces she needed for the spear to miss him-and stab into her side.

  
“CHARLIE!” Lennox cried out as the blade-no, not a blade, a tail-pulled away, only to wrap around her waist and pulled her up. Lennox grabbed her hand and tried to pull her back. Epps and Burns came running out, Epps grabbing her other arm and trying to help her down. Meanwhile Burns was shooting something above her. Charlie tried to look over her shoulder and saw red eyes.

  
“SHOOT IT!” Epps yelled at Burns.

  
“I AM SHOOTING IT IT’S NOT GOING DOWN!” Burns yelled back.

  
Charlie let out a cry of pain as the creature tugged, with Lennox and Epps holding her arms she felt like they would pop out of their sockets.

  
“You’re gonna break her arms!” Burns called out.

  
“What the hell are we suppose to do then!?” Lennox snarled.

  
Suddenly a blast-smaller than the ones of the other robots-landed right beside Epps-the impact sending the two men to the ground, their grips breaking from Charlie’s arm and she was yanked up to be face to face to the creature.

  
It was a scorpion. A giant, robot scorpion, full of the same malice as the ones that had taken over the world. She wanted to shoot at it but she had dropped her gun when she had been stabbed by its tail. She could feel a thin, hot trail of blood running from her hip to her ribs as the scorpion held her upside down.

  
Burns had once again aimed for the scorpion but it was smart, holding Charlie in front of its face, keeping her between Burns and itself. The man let out a curse and didn’t fire.  
Charlie tried to look around for Epps or Lennox, they must be looking for a ladder.

  
But the scorpion was already climbing up on top of the radio tower-higher and higher and Charlie left her stomach on the ground. Even if she could break out of its grip her only reward would be a broken neck when she fell to the ground.

  
_And here I thought Bumblebee had the dangerous part of the job_ , she thought in half-hysterics.

 

.

 

Bumblebee had just gotten the tower out of his sight when Blackout slammed into him, tumbling him across the asphalt before Bumblebee kicked him away and jumped to his feet.

  
The two bots glared at each other as Slipstream landed beside her comrade.

  
“We were warned you were around, B-127,” Blackout growled.

  
Slipstream spoke up, her voice like acid, “Lord Starscream informed us you’d be trying to contact your filthy Autobots, we just assumed you’d have a better plan to do so.” Her optics were narrowed as if she was trying to figure out if he _did_ have a different plan. Bumblebee couldn’t let her get back to Charlie and the others.

  
So he only shrugged, hoping he could convince her that fighting them two on one was his only plan.

  
Blackout cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders. “Never mind his idiocy, Slipstream. I’ve been bored for cycles. Let’s have some fun and kill an Autobot.”

  
He lunged at Bumblebee but he was ready for him, shooting at his shoulder and moving his blade to stab into Blackout’s neck. But the Decepticon was fast and grabbed the Autobot’s hand, using his greater size to toss him aside. But Bumblebee was quick and ran around to jump and latch himself onto Blackout’s back, similar to when he had fought Blitzwing. But unlike Blitzwing, Blackout fell backward, slamming his back, and Bumblebee, into the ground and trying to the smaller Autobot. With his hands grabbing Bumblebee all the Autobot had to use was his legs that were wrapped tightly around Blackout’s waist. In a desperate attempt he moved his legs to try and push his pelvis up, along Blackout. In retaliation the Decepticon put all his weight into his lower half and tried to flatten the Autobot’s legs. This lessened the pressure on his top half and Bumblebee managed to use his blade and take a note from Charlie, slicing his blade across Blackout’s optics, blinding him.

  
The Decepticon let out a shriek of pain and jumped away, putting distance between him as he rubbed at the energon now staining his face. But as soon as Bumblebee stood up, Slipstream was there, wrapping her fingers around his neck and lifting him into the air, only to immediately fling him down into the ground-the impact of his body making the ground break.

  
“Did your _pet_ teach you that move?” she hissed nastily as she leered over him. Her face twisted into an ugly smirk as Bumblebee’s optics widened in surprise. “That’s right, we know about the Autobot and his adorable little human. It’s cute, really. I especially like the part where she stabbed Dropkick through the optic.” She looked around the area, “Is she here? I think Dropkick would appreciate if I brought him to her.”

  
Busy with her gloating Bumblebee took the chance to send a knee up into her torso, startling her enough to slip his arms from her grip and grab her shoulders, flinging her off him.

  
He rolled away from a blast she had fired when thrown, and then jumped up to his feet rushing to her, ready to grapple.

  
But then searing pain hit his back.

  
Bumblebee stumbled to his knees and looked around. Blackout was desperately aiming blasts through the air in a blind rage, and despite the odds against him he had hit his mark.

  
“Stop firing, Blackout!” Slipstream shrieked the order. “You got him.”

  
Bumblebee turned around too late, Slipstream knocked into him and once again he was pinned. This time the femme Con had her knee in his back, pressing his head into the cracked asphalt.

  
She leaned over and whispered softly, into his audio receptors: “You know, B-127, the Decepticons and I had always felt sorry for you. Thinking Optimus Prime had been cruel to let such a small thing like you join this war. But there was of us who thought you were worthy, a formidable warrior, who deserved an honorable death.” She snorted, “But I guess we were wrong.”

  
There was a blaster pressed against his head, “I want you to go back to the AllSpark blaming Optimus, the reason that you’ll die here on this disgusting wasteland of a planet.”

 

.

 

The scorpion was examining Charlie as if trying to figure her out. It was more animalistic then the other robots, and she wondered if it could sense that she was different. That she had the power of the cube.

  
_I don’t know what it’ll do to me if it finds out._

  
Charlie looked at her surroundings, and could just make Epps on one of the tower’s ladders, half way up and aiming at the scorpion. But it noticed him too and shot at him, Epps just managing to duck it.

  
“No, don’t!” she cried out, reaching her arm out as if she could save him.

  
_Bumblebee_ … She needed her friend’s help, but she had no idea where he was, and if he was faring any better than they were.

  
The scorpion pulled her closer, leering over her with its face so close she could feel the heat coming off its body with waves.

  
“What do you want with me?” she spoke lowly. “You can do whatever you want with me but once Bumblebee gets back you’re _finished_. He’ll tear you to pieces, and then he’ll call for his friends here and then all of you evil robots will be _finished_!” Charlie hoped her shaking wouldn’t make her threat less impressive.

  
The scorpion made a growling noise and looked to be sizing her up as a meal.

  
But then a bullet snapped against his head and it turned away from here to glare around. It was Burns, closer to them then Lennox and Epps, his gun aimed at the robot.  
Charlie’s throat constricted with terror, “Burns, _go_!” She didn’t like the man but she didn’t want him to get killed for her sake.

  
“That was a warning shot!” Burns spoke to the scorpion. “Bring the girl to me or I’ll shoot you right through the eyes. I can’t kill you but I’ll sure as hell blind you.”

  
The scorpion stared him down.

  
“I know you can understand me you son of a bitch,” Burns continued. “Bring her to me!”

  
The scorpion turned back to Charlie, it’s eyes unreadable and if she didn’t know better she could have sworn it was considering Burns words.

  
And then it tightened its grip on Charlie and she let out a scream as she felt her ribs creak, it felt like any moment her bones would break. She thought she heard Burns’ voice but her hearing and sight were starting to fell her, the pain bringing her brain close to subconsciousness. The world was fading to her edges, it hurt too much to scream and any moment she knew her ribs would break, the shards stabbing her heart and lungs-and that would be it.

  
And then-the second before her body would break-the scorpion let her go. She was falling at an incredible high-speed, the wind tugged her hair and ripping at her skin and she was unable to take a breath. Her ears were ringing and her vision was blurry and her only thought was- _At least it’ll stop hurting when I’m dead_.

  
But instead of hitting cold ground she landed in something that felt warm…and familiar. Metal hands? Bumblebee? No, the hands that held her cupped her perfectly, they were larger…different.

  
Charlie blinked her vision clear, her ribs aching and she forced herself to look up.

  
She met blue eyes that floor her, it was so easy to see the wisdom in the sapphire depths, the bravery…the goodness.

  
“Who…” she forced the words out, her voice croaky. “Who are you?”

  
The voice that answered was like thunder, booming yet…gentle, rattling her sore bones yet not causing any harm.

  
“I, am Optimus Prime.” 


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. I have so many projects going on (including doing some work on my own book) that things get away from me. As usual I try to keep a schedule with writing this and will get the next chapter out as soon as I can.

It had been a long time since Starscream felt such a strong bolt of fear, nearly buckling under the weight of this new knowledge.

  
Skywarp stood next to him, by his expression they were-for once-sharing the exact same thought.

  
_Optimus Prime was on this planet._

  
Five Cybertronian pods had washed up on a random shore, it had been pure coincidence that Skywarp had flown by and spotted them. And while Starscream had no proof that the leader of the Autobots was on Earth, yet Starscream knew his spark wouldn’t be shaking if Prime wasn’t near.

  
“What-what should we do?” Skywarp spoke up, his voice shaking.

  
Starscream’s optics narrowed. He was leader. And neither Megatron nor Prime would take that from him.

  
“Send a message to all the Cons on this continent, find Prime, find his Autobots. And bring me their heads.”

 

.

 

_Several cycles earlier…_

 

“I can’t reach him, Optimus.”

  
Arcee’s quiet, concerned voice, filled his audio receptors and he clenched his hands.

  
First Cliffjumper, now B-127. Two of his best scouts missing, possibly offline. What kind of leader was he if he couldn’t keep those under his commands safe?

  
The star-dotted universe yawned out before him, it had never seemed so big…and so dangerous. But Optimus forced his mind not to stray to what lay out there. He knew both of his Autobots had vanished on a rural planet known as Earth. He had collected what information he could about it and it’s inhabitants. He hoped that Cliffjumper and B-127 had simply been separated from their pods or misplaced their comm links in their attempt to keep hidden from a species that proved to be…skittish according to their history.

  
Ironhide’s voice broke through his silence. “Optimus, do you want me to go down there?”

  
Prime would rather give up his spark before he let his team get separated again. “No, we will _all_ go.”

  
There was a moment of silence.

  
“Are you sure that’s wise?” It was Ratchet who spoke up. “This planet is populated.”

  
“We will use stealth,” Optimus assured his old friend. “With any luck B-127 or Cliffjumper have found a secure place where we can rest and try to contact the rest of the Autobots.”

  
His optics turned to the blue planet, wondering if there he could find salvation. If he could find hope.

  
Optimus would not find either of those.

  
He didn’t get a good look on the planet until their pods had crashed into the liquid that was dubbed the ocean, it had carried them to shore where Optimus had expected to see organic life in abundance.

  
What he saw reminded him far too much of the Cybertron they had left behind. Buildings destroyed, and nothing alive as far as the optic could see.

  
His comrades stood beside him, speechless.

  
“What happened here?” Arcee breathed.

  
There was a moment where none answered, but then Ratchet’s grizzled voice spoke up with unshakable certainty: “Decepticons.”

  
Wheeljack’s head whipped around to stare at his friend. “How can you tell?” They hadn’t seen a Decepticon in a long, long time.

  
“I just _know_.” Ratchet growled. “I’ve fought them long enough to recognize their handiwork.”

  
“But why?” Ironhide spoke up, stepping forward and indicating to the destruction before them. “This planet was full of nothing but organics? And the planet is covered in liquid that could rust a bot. What could the Decepticons gain from all of this?”

  
“Maybe then need a new base now that Cybertron is in shambles,” Wheeljack spoke up.

  
“Maybe they’re looking for something,” Ratchet offered, his voice still low and heavy with anger.

  
“Like Cliffjumper or B-127?”

  
Arcee’s question was wary and a new wave of dread spread across the group. While the two scouts could stand against Decepticons better than this planet’s organics, there was only two of them. And if the rest of this planet was in the exact same shape as what laid before them…the two Bots could not stand against an entire army.

  
“We should have been here,” Optimus finally spoke up, an awful wave of guilt settling heavily on his spark. “We should have protected this planet from the Decepticons.”

  
“You can’t go blaming yourself,” Ratchet spoke up, blunt and unsympathetic. “We had no way of knowing what the Cons were doing and we don’t have time. We need to get our scouts back before those waste of Energon get to them first.”

  
“Maybe we can help these organics after we find B and Cliff,” Wheeljack offered hopefully as the five set out.

  
As they walk Optimus felt a sense of dread rising. So much tragedy had befallen this planet, and he felt that Ratchet had made a valid point. The Decepticons were looking for something. Something that was important was here. Optimus just had no inkling on what it could possibly be.

 

.

 

_Present..._

 

Bumblebee heard the fire of a blast and he flinched, for a split second thinking that Slipstream had shot him and he would now be one with the AllSpark.

  
But he was still on Earth, and Slipstream was still atop of him. But now she was looking over him to Blackout. Quite suddenly there was a bam and a hole appeared in the Con’s chest, making her fly off the Autobot and lay sprawled on the ground.

  
Bumblebee quickly sat up and scrambled away from the body, his optics starring. He was certain that was a fire from an Cybertronian weapon. But who…

  
“Of course I find _you_ in a mess, B-127.”

  
Bumblebee started at his original name and whirled around to see an unexpected but a completely welcomed sight.

  
Ironhide and Arcee stood beside the unmoving body of Blackout. The two smiling down at the scout with warmth in their optics.

  
His friends…they were here… _his friends were here_!

  
The yellow bot jumped up and ran toward the two, wrapping his arms around Ironhide before the red bot could stop him.

  
“Yeah, yeah, okay, okay.” Ironhide patted his back, his voice was a mixture of embarrassment and affection. “I missed you too.”

  
“Oh, _B_!” Arcee gushed when Bumblebee stepped away from Ironhide. It was her turn to rush into a hug, wrapping her arms around his torso and lifting his feet off the ground.

“We were so worried about you!”

  
After she placed him down the two immediately began bombarding him with questions. Why were the Decepticons here? How long had they been here? Where was Cliffjumper? And the yellow Autobot felt a twinge of grief as he remembered that he could no longer speak to his friends.

  
The two quickly caught on that he wasn’t speaking and halted their questioning, looking at him with both concern and confusion.

  
Bumblebee tapped his throat, almost feeling the memory of the pain he felt when Blitzwing had ripped his voice box out. But how could he explain that to them?

  
_I’ll take them to Charlie_ , he decided, _Charlie will_ \- His thought came to an abrupt halt as a new realization. Blackout was guarding that tower… Blackout who he had never seen without his companion Scorponok. And that little menace was nowhere to be found.

  
_Charlie_ … Bumblebee whirled around and bolted toward the tower, his spark in his throat. _CHARLIE!_

 

.

 

This robot, this Optimus Prime, placed Charlie gently on the ground where Lennox, Epps, and Burns waited. None of them took their eyes off the massive figure that held himself so differently from Bumblebee and their enemies. He looked over the three, Charlie wondered if his eyes held on her for a moment longer and she wondered what he saw.

  
But then Optimus’s head turned sharply, looking up at the tower. Falling his gaze Charlie saw the scorpion start to frantically crawl down, no doubt making for an escape.

  
Optimus moved as if to stop it but before he did a shot of energy hit the scorpion, cleanly missing the tower and sending it to the ground where it twitched for a few moments then went still.

  
“Greasy little parasite,” a grizzled voice spoke up and Charlie’s eyes nearly fell out of her head as two more robots appeared behind Optimus. The one that had fired the shot was red and white and despite not having any sort of age lines she could tell he carried far more years than any of the other robots she had meant.

  
The other robot was more gray and had strange fin-like things on the sides of his head that glowed a pretty blue. He eyes were all for the four humans, staring at them with an intense awe as if he never seen something so unbelievable.

  
It was then Charlie noticed the red insignia they all shared, the same one Bumblebee had, and her heart jumped with hope.

  
“Do you know Bumblebee?” her voice felt so small she hadn’t expected them to hear her.

  
But Optimus immediately gave her his full attention and while she felt intimidated it didn’t stop the blanket of reassurance that had fallen over her the moment she laid her eyes on this robot.

  
“Who is Bumblebee?” he asked. But before Charlie could explain the sound of something approaching caught her ears.

  
The three robots turned their attention to the sounds, the red and white robot bracing his gun, while Lennox helped Charlie to her feet, Epps and Burns standing in front of her in a sense that felt protective. Charlie had to remember to take the time to thank the three later on, they had stood by her and risked their lives to save her.

  
A familiar yellow shape appeared and Charlie’s heart felt full when she looked over Bumblebee, not horribly injured, perfectly okay. He was with two other new robots, a bulky red bot that screamed soldier, and a smaller pink and white bot that looked female.

  
Charlie tried to catch her friend’s eye but Bumblebee was solely focused on Optimus Prime. He looked at the robot as if all his problems had faded, that finally everything was okay, he looked like he would cry. Charlie’s father flashed in her mind and instantly Charlie understood the relationship between the two.

  
“ _B-127_!”

  
The voice came from the gray robot who bolted toward the smaller one, picking him up into a hug and spinning around. Charlie bit back a chuckle while Lennox and Epps exchanged perplexed yet amused looks. Burns face was unreadable.

  
“It’s good to see you,” the older bot spoke up, his grouchy voice lighter with comradeship.

  
Bumblebee pulled away from the gray bot and carefully walked over to Optimus Prime, for all the immense affection in his eyes, he approached the taller robot shyly.

  
“I’m glad to see you again, B-127,” Optimus spoke, while his voice was level his eyes had a shine and again Charlie was reminded of her father with a bittersweet ache.

  
Bumblebee gave Optimus a hug, but it was quick and awkward as if he didn’t know it was appropriate. For all his fondness it was clear Optimus was something of a commander or leader and Charlie felt a rush of humor to see her friend so flustered.

  
But Optimus kept his expression even as he went on, “Have you been able to find Cliffjumper?”

  
Both Charlie and Bee flinched in unison at the mention of the deceased robot. The pink and white femme bot then stepped forward, addressing Optimus. “I think he lost his voice, Prime.”

  
“Lost his voice?” the red and white robot stepped forward and examined Bumblebee’s throat. After a moment he let out a hiss, “His voice box has been ripped out! How the slag did that happen?”

  
 “It was a jet.” The words came out before Charlie had decided if she should push herself into a conversation between six giant robots. When all eyes turned on her she took comfort that the moment Bumblebee looked at her, his gaze softened even more.

  
“A jet?” the femme bot echoed in concern.

  
“That doesn’t narrow it down,” the red one said, his voice not as soft as Optimus or the femme, “We know a lot of jets who would do this.”

  
“I-I don’t know his name,” Charlie stammered. He was kinda red and grayish white-”

  
“BLITZWING!”

  
The yell came from the robot with the glowing fins and Bumblebee turned to him and nodded quickly.

  
“How _dare_ he,” the red robot growled, swinging his massive head around as if Blitzwing would pop up at any second. “Where is he? I’ll rip _his_ voice box out!”

  
“He’s dead,” Charlie spoke up again and wanted to shrink under the five gazes. “Bumblebee killed him.”

  
“Bumblebee?” the fin robot turned to his friend. “Is that a new name? What’s it mean?”

  
Before Charlie could decide if she should explain that, Optimus Prime suddenly knelt in front of her, giving her and the soldiers his complete attention. “Who are you?” he asked softly. 

  
It was Burns who stepped up and introduced himself and his soldiers. “We’re trying to clean up the mess your friends are making,” he replied bitterly and Charlie’s eyes bulged. Did he not get the sense of respect she did for Prime? She couldn’t imagine talking to this robot with such a tone. But while Optimus’ eyes narrowed he didn’t appear to be defended. “The ones who have caused this destruction,” he looked at their surroundings, a skeleton of a city that once stood tall. Optimus’ shoulders seemed to sag. “They are called Decepticons, and I assure you they are no friends to the Autobots.”

  
“Autobots?” Charlie repeated the word, her brow furrowed.

  
Optimus indicated to his red insignia, the same one his friends share. “We are Autobots and I am afraid your home has been caught up in a war that has lasted for a long, long time.”

  
“A war?” Lennox stepped forward. Epps expression was almost relieved, as if all he wanted was a reason for all of this madness and destruction.

  
Optimus had turned his eyes to Charlie. “I will explain everything. But first I want to know who _you_ are. Are you a friend of B-127’s?”

  
“Is that his name?” Charlie wouldn’t tell the bot she didn’t care for it. “I just called him Bumblebee since he didn’t get to introduce himself before he lost his voice.” She quickly cleared her throat, “I’m Charlie Watson. And yeah-” she looked beyond Optimus to Bumble-B-127, who was listening to his friends talk animatedly. “We’re friends.”

  
As if he heard her B-127 (she couldn’t get used to that name) turned toward her and seemed to smile, walking over to kneel beside Optimus and gaze down at Charlie.  
She smiled up at him, he’ll always be Bumblebee to her.

  
Charlie was aware of Optimus and the other Autobots watching carefully as Bumblebee outstretched his hands to her, ready to pick her up and carry her to wherever they go next. Without thinking Charlie stretched her arms up to grab his hands-and let out a yelp.

  
The two robots and the soldiers jolted at the sound and Lennox and Epps were at her side while Bumblebee held her shoulders as if he expected her to fall to the ground.

  
“Oh, Charlie.” Surprising her Lennox lifted her shirt to reveal her hip, and the blood that stained her skin. She felt Bumblebee’s grip tighten as she stared down at the stab wound she had forgotten about in all the excitement and adrenaline. Was that a speck of blue?

  
“That scorpion got her,” Epps said, whipped his head around to glare at said scorpion’s corpse.

  
Burns stepped forward and the two soldiers turned toward him, waiting for orders while the other Autobots hurried forward.

  
“We’ll get her back to the Sanctuary and get her patched up,” he decided before turning his eyes to Optimus and the others. “And then we’ll figure out what to do with…the rest of this.”   
 

 

 


	26. Chapter 26

Epps was sent to collect the first aid kit from the island, Burns (and everyone else) deciding that it wasn’t the best plan to introduce five more-much taller-robots to the group of traumatized civilians.

  
Charlie admitted it would have been the smarter choice to go with Epps and let him patch her up there, but she didn’t want her family to see her injured. And she needed to help Bumblebee explain to his friends all that had happened.

  
Starting with Cliffjumper.

  
She, Lennox, and Burns sat atop one of the smaller buildings, it was easier to talk to them when they were closer to eye level. All of them but Wheeljack, who had stayed behind to study the radio tower, surrounded them. Bumblebee was staring at Charlie with obvious concern while Lennox helped her pressed against her wound to stop her bleeding.

 

Burns looking like he regretted not going with Epps.

  
“I’m sorry,” it was the first words Charlie spoke when they brought up the red Autobot. “He died.”

  
She saw grief in the five pairs of eyes, but none of them looked surprised.

  
“He had been alone on this planet for so long,” the bot named Arcee said, “Alone with nothing but Decepticons…he didn’t stand a chance.”

  
“He _did_ though,” Ironhide suddenly snapped at her, making the humans jump. “He would have lasted long enough for us to come get him, but we didn’t!” He glared down at the group, his eyes blue fire. “We failed him.”

  
“No,” Optimus spoke up, “I was his leader. _I_ failed him.”

  
Immediately the other Autobots spoke up at once, trying to insist to Optimus that he needn’t carry the blame himself, they were a _team_ and shared their triumphs, and their failures.

  
After a moment Optimus moved his eyes back to Charlie, “What else happened?”

  
Charlie began the process of explaining everything she and Bumblebee had been through, she was wondering if she should mention their dance on the beach or their moment in the school (it felt too private, intimate even) but she didn’t get there. The moment she mentioned the robot corpse and cube that had been dragged up a wave of shock and panic fell across them.

  
“What cube?!” Arcee gasped.

  
“What robot corpse?!” demanded Ratchet.

  
Charlie glanced at Bumblebee, she hadn’t mentioned her experience with the cube since it had been before she had met him and…she was scared.

  
She trusted Bumblebee completely and she wanted to trust his friends, especially Optimus… But what would they do to her when they found out? How valuable was the power this cube gave her? And was it more valuable than her?

  
But Bumblebee gave her an assuring nod and she knew she’d do whatever he wanted her to. And he wanted her to tell them everything.

  
“I don’t know the name of the robot,” she started. “He was a gray color, and a bunch of other-you called them Decepticons-dug him out of this massive hole. The same massive hole where a cube was.

  
“What did these Decepticons look like?” Optimus asked.

  
“There was another red and white jet, but he looked different from Blitzwing and stayed away from the hole. There was this blue and red couple, the one who carried the body out only had one eye-”

  
“Shockwave!” Ironhide hissed suddenly, startling her yet again. “If he was digging up bodies it _has_ to be Megatron, he wouldn’t do that for any other bot.”

  
“That would explain why they’re here in the first place,” Ratchet spoke up with a growl. “They came to find their leader’s body.”

  
Optimus’s gaze was far away, “And they came for the AllSpark.”

  
The word left a pressure against Charlie’s heart, at last she knew the name of that mysterious cube. Her life had changed even before she met Bumblebee.

  
“And now the Cons have it,” Ironhide looked up at the sky as if he expected one of his enemies to appear. “No doubts they’ll use it to resurrect Megatron.”

  
Charlie’s eyes bulged, “It can do that?” Beside her Lennox and Burns exchanged a look, their expressions unreadable.

  
“Oh, yes,” Arcee informed her, leaving forward, “The AllSpark is the most powerful artifact from our world. With its power the Decepticons can do…almost anything they want.”

  
“Which they will,” Ratchet growled.

  
Charlie’s mouth opened before she could weigh the consequences of her next words: “No. No, I don’t think they will.”

  
With the exception of Bumblebee (whose eyes lit up at her words) and Optimus (who simply looked interested), the reaction that Charlie received was one that told her these robots thought she was crazy.

  
“We’re talking about the _Decepticons_ ,” Arcee said gently as if Charlie hadn’t heard her the first time.

  
“The bad robots,” Ironhide added as if she hadn’t been paying attention.

  
“The ones that destroyed your planet,” Ratchet finished, indicating to the destroyed Earth as if Charlie was a complete moron.

  
“I mean,” Charlie suddenly felt stupid. What if she was completely wrong? “I don’t think that cube-the AllSpark-still has this power you are talking about.”

  
Ironhide scowled, looking as if he was deeply offended in Charlie’s lack of faith in the AllSpark’s power. But Lennox spoke first:  
“It’s power is inside of you, isn’t it?”

  
Charlie snapped her head around to stare at the young man in alarm. How did he-

  
Lennox pulled his hand away, revealing the wound on her hip. Surprisingly the bleeding had stopped, but the thought immediately left her mind when she saw the blue specks that stood out in the red of her wound.

  
“Yeah,” Charlie’s mouth was suddenly dry. “I think it is.”

  
Optimus stayed completely still, his expression unreadable, but the other Autobots had physical reactions. They stepped back as if Charlie was nuclear, Ironhide turning on his heel and walking away to stand a distance away. Arcee glanced between her friend and Charlie before hurrying over to the red robot’s side.

  
“That’s not possible,” Ratchet breathed, his eyes not leaving Charlie’s wound. Feeling self-concious she placed her hand back over the injury.

  
Bumblebee reached forward and grazed his fingers over her hand in comfort. Charlie offered him a small smile, her anxiety decreasing, just a little.

  
“But it is true,” Optimus spoke up, his voice as unreadable as his expression.

  
“I think so,” Charlie replied before explaining what had happened after Bumblebee fought those three Cons. “I placed my hands on him, wanting nothing else but for him to get better and then…he was healed.”

  
“I figured that was it,” Lennox admitted, sitting back on his heels. “I saw the state Bee was in after fighting those three, only for him to be perfectly fine a few minutes later. And then you talked about getting whacked by one of those Cons and not, you know, dying. Pardon the cliche, Charlie, but you’re not like other girls.”

  
“But that doesn’t explain _how_ you received the power of the AllSpark,” Ratchet said with impatience thick in his voice.

  
 As quickly as possible Charlie told them what happened that day, how she had found Cliffjumper, his metal flecks in her hands, finding the cube and something telling her to touch it. The pain and how her hands were suddenly healed.

  
Optimus glanced away, deep in thought. “Perhaps…” he said at last. “The shrapnel from Cliffjumper made the cube believe you had Cybertronian DNA.”

  
“That seems far-fetched,” Ratchet replied, “Then again I’ve seen a lot of far-fetched things during this war.”

  
“Wouldn’t Charlie technically have Cybertronian DNA now?” Lennox asked. “Now that those bits of your friend was absorbed into her arms when she touched the cube.”

  
Ratchet glared at the human but he didn’t look dismissive of the idea.

  
“What happens now?” Charlie asked quietly.

  
Before either robots could reply Burns stepped forward, finally speaking: “The first thing that’s going to happen is we find a place for these Autobots to stay.”

  
Charlie and Lennox looked up at him while Bumblebee looked less than pleased that the man decided to enjoy the conversation. “What’s wrong with Alcatraz?”

  
Burns looked up at Optimus and Ratchet, “Don’t get me wrong. As much as I have my…issues, with all of this, if you’re willing to get those Cons off our planet I’ll welcome the help. But I have survivors who watched their parents, spouses, and children be killed by robots that look exactly like you. Bumblebee is one thing but five more of you who are much taller, is another. Besides, we have no place to hide you if a Con decides to fly over the island.”

  
To Charlie’s surprise Optimus nodded passively. “I understand, and you are right we need to find a place to stay out of sight until we have our bearings.” He turned back to her, “I will figure out what has happened between you and the AllSpark, Charlie. I will just need time.”

  
“Of course,” Charlie replied, feeling a sense of relief.

 

.

 

Charlie stayed with the Autobots that night. Her hip freshly patched up after Epps finally returned. It had taken a while to get away after he had told everyone that they had new allies.

  
“I thought Otis was going to grab my leg and not let go unless I brought him along,” Epps joked to Charlie as the four humans sat together.

  
The three men were trying to envision a map of the city, thinking of the best place for the Autobots to stay. Charlie, who did not know the layout of the city, spent her time continuously looking over her shoulder where the Autobots stood several feet away.

  
Wheeljack had returned, having used the radio tower to set up a distress signal that was sent up to space. But he had no idea how long it would take for the message to reach them, or how far away from Earth they were.

  
“We should never have separated,” Ironhide said.

  
“There’s no point kicking ourselves over things we can’t change,” Ratchet replied.

  
There was a moment, then Arcee stepped forward, “We should take a moment…to honor Cliffjumper.”

  
There were nods of agreement and then Ironhide caught Charlie’s eye as she watched them. She quickly turned away when his gaze turned into a glare.

  
“Let’s go over there,” he headed away from the humans and Charlie felt a new wave of guilt. Optimus had relayed to him how she had obtained the AllSpark power, Ironhide clearly wasn’t keen on the fact a human’s body (while not purposefully) used his friend’s body to essentially take the Cybertronian’s greatest artifact. Charlie hadn’t meant for it to happen, but that did little to ease Ironhide’s grief.

 

.

 

Charlie jolted awake.

  
As usual whatever dream she had it was snatched from her mind as soon as her eyes opened. At least this one didn’t leave her struggling in her sleep like last time.

  
She and the guys had made makeshift beds in an old office building, the three still asleep. Charlie sat up and stretched, startled that she couldn’t even feel the cut on her hip.

  
_I don’t even think I’m still human anymore…At least, not completely._

  
Standing up she walked outside, her dream not even a memory but she could feel the shadow of it clawing at her brain. She wondered if she could have a moment with Bumblebee, it would be a much needed moment of comfort.

  
But stepping outside Bumblebee was nowhere in sight, instead all she saw was Optimus, standing alone, staring out to the rising sun.

  
Feeling shy Charlie walked over to stand by his foot. “Hello.”

  
He looked down at her, “Hello.”

  
“Where are Bumblebee and the others?”

  
“They left early to scout for a new base,” he answered, turning his eyes back to the sky.

  
“You didn’t want to go?”

  
“One of us needed to stay with you, and B-1-Bumblebee-has experience with this planet.”

  
“You don’t have to call him Bumblebee,” Charlie insisted. “If his real name is B-127, then that’s what you should call him.”

  
“I don’t think that’s his real name,” Optimus began, “Not anymore.” He suddenly knelt down before Charlie. “I think he considers himself Bumblebee now.”

  
“Really?” Charlie breathed, feeling flustered.

  
“I’ve known him for a long time. I can tell how he feels even if he can’t speak,” Optimus explained. “I can tell he cares deeply for you.”

  
“The feeling’s mutual,” Charlie assured. “He’s the best friend I’ve ever had. And I want to help him stop the Decepticons-I want to help _all_ of you.”

  
An emotion flashed through his eyes so quickly Charlie couldn’t tell what it had been. “Aren’t you scared, Charlie?”

  
She blinked, slightly thrown by the question. But she answered honestly, “I’m terrified. I lived for months thinking I was the only human left alive, I was nearly killed by giant robots, I have this…strange alien power inside of me, and I have no idea what you will do to me-” She bit her tongue, she hadn’t meant to be _that_ honest.

  
Optimus’s eyes narrowed, “What do you think I’ll do to you?”

  
Charlie swallowed, “I’m not trying to say you’re bad or anything but, I’ve never been through anything like this. I don’t know what I’ll do with this power, I don’t know if you plan on taking the power out of me or using me for a weapon or-”

  
Optimus held up his hand and Charlie immediately slammed her jaw shut.

  
“No one’s going to use you, Charlie,” Optimus’s voice was firm but not unkind. “Do I want to take away the AllSpark powers? Yes, but only because it is a great responsibility that will make you a target to the Decepticons if they find out. I’m here to protect you, Charlie, you can trust me.”

  
Charlie knew she could. It was strangely easier to believe him than it had been to believe Bumblebee. And she knew part of that was because this robot reminded her so, so much of her father, even if their personalities couldn’t be more different.

  
Optimus released a sound similar to a sigh and his shoulders almost seemed to sag. “But I can understand if trust is too much to ask from you, or the other humans of this planet. You needed me and I was far too late to protect you.”

  
Charlie hadn’t even considered that, and even with Optimus bringing it up she couldn’t find it in herself to blame them. She was just too relieved that he was here _now_ , that they weren’t alone in this battle. And that’s what she told Optimus.

  
In response he reached his hand out, letting Charlie lay her hand against his palm, warm and smooth. “I am sorry that I did not come sooner. But I vow now, Charlie Watson, that I will protect you. You will live to see the restoration of your home.”

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Expostition...yaaay.
> 
> Probably none of this stuff with the AllSpark could actually happen in canon.


	27. Chapter 27

“And that’s what happened.”

Bumblebee stood behind Charlie, Lennox, and Epps. They had returned to the Sanctuary to share all that had happened since they left for the tower. And, with the exception of Otis, none of the survivors were happy to know there were five more robots-with even more on the way-so close to the island. Even though it was sworn up and down that these new robots were good, like Bumblebee.

_I think I’m the exception_ , he realized sadly, before glancing to his left.

If only he had realized that before Wheeljack had tagged along.

The fin-adorned Autobot was crouched directly behind Epps, arms thrown across his legs and _staring_.

If Wheeljack could tell how distrusted and disliked he was among this crowd, he gave no sign. Instead he gazed at them with wide optics, his awe of these organics causing the blue to sparkle like stars.

_Do I look like that when I look at Charlie?_  Bumblebee wondered idly, then quite suddenly felt hot under his metal.

“They all look so different!” Wheeljack told Bumblebee in Cybertronian. “I thought organics would be hard to tell apart but they’re so different! They’re all so…cute.”

Bumblebee buzzed with laughter. He would have loved to see Wheeljack call Burns cute.

Charlie stepped forward and indicated to the bigger bot, “Everyone, this is Wheeljack. He’s very smart.”

Wheeljack quickly snapped his head around to grin eccentrically at the group, making several humans took a step back. “Hi, hey, hello,” he greeted in English.

He suddenly leaned forward, making Epps jump out of the way. “It’s so nice to meet you! You’re all so soft looking, what do you use as armor? Oh, Charlie mentioned something about a thing called ‘food’, do you all use it? Whose your leader? Is it that Burns human? He’s so quiet. Are you all quiet? You haven’t said a word.”

Before Bumblebee could intervene Charlie hurried forward and placed her hand on his arm. “Wheeljack…you gotta give them a chance to respond.”

As she talked Bumblebee paid close attention to how the two reacted to each other…and his shoulders sagged in relief.

There was no fear or nervousness between the two. Charlie was comfortable around him, and Wheeljack acted like she didn’t even contain the AllSpark inside her.

_I want them to get along_ , the thought was wistful. _I want Optimus and the rest of the Autobots to like Charlie. And I want her to like them, to like the world my life has to offer_. He was thrown by how important this was to him. Surely he had more important things to focus on.

“Otis,” Charlie suddenly turned to her brother. He looked as excited as Wheeljack. “Come over and say hi.”

Mrs. Watson’s brow wrinkled in concern, “Charlie, I don’t know if-”

But Otis was already pulling away from his mother to scamper over to Wheeljack. “Hi, I’m Otis!”

“Hi, I’m Wheeljack!”

Charlie opened her mouth, probably to help the introductions along, but the introductions were over. Immediately the two started to ask questions at rapid fire pace, somehow managing to answer _and_ ask.

Charlie blinked at the sight, optics wide, before slowly backing away from the two. The rest of the humans exchanged looks before starting to shuffle away. Charlie’s parents walked over to her to talk in low voices, keeping an optic on their son and the Autobot.

Watching Otis and Wheeljack, Bumblebee felt both amused-and a little annoyed. They knew each other for five seconds and were already friends. Bumblebee had to catch Charlie from falling out a window for that.

“Well, that wasn’t too painful,” Lennox grinned up at Bumblebee.

“Painful,” Epps leaned in, “But not as much as it could have been.”

Bumblebee buzzed in agreement.

“Want to go see if Burns and Prime are back from their scouting?” Epps offered.

Bumblebee glanced over at Charlie, wanting to invite her along. But she was still talking to her parents.

“Maybe let Charlie sit this mission out,” Lennox said, a teasing glint in his optics.

“Yeah, considering last time she went out she got stabbed by a giant scorpion,” Epps said, much more serious.

Bumblebee and Lennox look at him. Epps rolled his eyes then addressed his fellow soldier, “You were thinking it, I just said it.”

 

.

 

Charlie looked over to see Bumblebee and the soldiers walking away. Instinct told her to go after them, but her mom was still talking to her. A nurser before the world had gone to hell, she wanted to examine her daughter for injuries. While they had told the civilians about Scorponak, they left out the part where Charlie got stabbed-and how she had an alien power source inside her. She could only imagine how her mother would react to _that_.

“Mom, Mom,” Charlie broke in, holding her mother’s arms in a firm grip. “I promise, I’m _fine_.”

_I’m fine now, at least_ , she thought as an image of the Autobots flashed through her mind.

“Your mom’s just worried about you, Charlie,” Ron put in, genuine concern on his face and voice.

“I know,” Charlie insisted, “But with the Autobots here, things are finally turning out…okay.”

She looked over to Wheeljack and her brother, surprised to see that Memo, Sam in arm, had appeared out of nowhere with Conan at his heels. Of course, Wheeljack looked as if he would short circuit over the sight of a baby and a dog.

“Otis is getting to make new friends,” Charlie smiled at her mother. “And I’ve made friends too.” She couldn’t even begin to explain her bond with Bumblebee and how it was so different from any relationship she had ever had. Nor could she explain how Optimus felt so much like her father.

A sudden shadow fell over them and Charlie looked up to see Wheeljack. “Can I borrow you for a click?”

“Oh,” she blinked. “Sure.”

Her mother looked like she was going to object but thankfully Ron gently led her away. He may not trust the Autobots, but he trusted Charlie who trusted them.

“Something wrong?” she asked the Autobot.

Wheeljack shook his wide head, “No, no, everything’s fine! I really like that Otis human, he’s very smart!”

_Sure he is_ , Charlie thought dryly.

“And that tiny human and the weird four-legged furry human? Amazing!”

“Uh, Conan’s not-”

“But I’m getting distracted,” Wheeljack went on. “Memo told me how you two met which made me look at you which reminded me that Prime wanted me to check on your wound.”

“Ah, okay.” Double-checking Otis and company were distracting Sally, Charlie lifted her shirt just enough to show off the new scar where the stab wound had been. She fought back a shudder, healing so quickly…it was going to take awhile for it to stop feeling so uncanny.

But from Wheeljack’s expression he didn’t find it strange in the slightest, the way his eyes glittered as he looked at the scar made her feel self-concious.

“Fascinating,” he breathed. “Cybertronians can’t self-heal like this. It’s like carrying the most powerful first-aid kit inside you. You could always heal…”

“Maybe,” Charlie admitted. “But I don’t know if I want to test that theory.”

Her words made him chuckle and she felt a glow of pleasure at making the Autobot laugh. She wanted Wheeljack to be her friend, though Otis was probably already his best friend.

“Does it hurt?” he asked, taking on a more professional tone.

“No,” Charlie ran her hand over the scar. “It feels…weird though. Like static? I guess that’s a good word to explain it.”

Wheeljack hummed in thought, “It’s probably the energy used to heal your wound. It’s really interesting how it can heal organic matter…then again, I don’t think you’re organic anymore. Not completely anyway.”

Charlie felt a twist in her gut at the thought, which must have made her face twist because Wheeljack gave her a reassuring smile.

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing, it makes you one of a kind.”

“I don’t know if I want to be one of a kind,” Charlie admitted.

Wheeljack’s smile dropped but his voice was still gentle and sympathetic, “I can understand that. War makes us become many things we don’t want to be.” He sat up straight, “But the good news is you don’t have to handle this on your own. You have Prime, and all these humans, and B-127-I mean, _Bumblebee_.” He winked…for some reason.

Before Charlie could question it he had stood up and walked back to Otis and Memo, talking animatedly to the boys while Sally returned to Charlie’s side.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

“Yes,” she gave her mom a side hug. “Just checking on me, like you. What’s Ron doing?”

Sally sighed, “I think he thinks it would be rude to walk away while the ro- _Wheeljack_ , is talking.”

 

.

 

Starscream key his optics and audio open as he led Skywarp down the hall and toward the base’s entrance.

“Remember your mission,” he breathed to his comrade.

Skywarp rolled his optics, “It’s only like, three steps.”

“Repeat it anyway,” Starscream growled. “Humor me.”

Skywarp listed off the steps on his fingers: “Find Prime and the AllSpark girl, figure out their evil Autobot plans, steal the AllSpark girl.”

“And bring her here,” Starscream reminded. “Safe and sound. And no matter _what_ , do not let any other Con know what you are doing. _Especially_ Soundwave or Shockwave.”

Skywarp nodded, his optics darkening. “Trust me, Starscream. I got this.”

 


	28. Chapter 28

Finding a base for the Autobots was not going to be so easy.

Most places that were large enough for five robots to live in had been destroyed, Bumblebee could almost believe Starscream had planned for the Autobots to eventually show up.

_But if I did that I wouldn’t be able to imagine him shaking in his servos at the thought of Prime finding him_ , he thought with dark glee. He wanted to go ahead and search for the Decepticon base, but the planet was large and anything they did moving forward would require a base.

For now, Optimus decided that staying near the radio tower would be the best course of action. They were expecting at least one Decepticon to arrive to check on the now silent Blackout and Slipstream. But so far, nothing. If it wasn’t for the vivid memories of what he had already seen-and fought-Bumblebee would start to doubt that Earth wasn’t crawling with the enemy.

Currently, Optimus was conversing with Ironhide and Arcee, while Wheeljack and Ratchet were talking a few feet away. Wheeljack had returned a breem or so ago, and was now animatedly telling Ratchet all he had learned about the humans.

Ratchet didn’t look incredibly impressed.

The soldiers had returned to the Sanctuary, but Bumblebee’s earlier conversation with Burns still rang in his audio receptors:

“Look… _Bumblebee_.”

The use of his name had made the Autobot start, looking down to Burns at the dock while Lennox and Epps got the boat ready.

Bumblebee knelt down, his optics wide with interest.

“I’ve been…thinking, mulling things over during…all this,” he vaguely waved his hand around, indicating all the events that had transpired since the two met. “And _I_ -” he sent a sideways glare over to Epps and Lennox who had their backs to them- “Should give you some form of gratitude.”

Bumblebee blinked, sure he had heard wrong.

“While, it’s your kinds’ crazy war that we got dragged into, and we could have done just fine on our own, not to mention-”

He was cut off by Epps, who very loudly cleared his throat, making it apparent the two soldiers could hear them.

“But _still_ ,” the words came through gritted teeth as Burns went on. “You and your ‘Autobots’ helping us, it will make getting our planet back easier so… Thank you.”

Burns and the soldiers had left before Bumblebee could express how touched he had been. Even if Burns didn’t like it, he was warming up to the Autobots. And he knew Optimus and his comrades must have warmed him up during their base hunt. It was so easy to look at them with a fond optic, to follow them into battle.

“Come ‘ere, B-127,” Ratchet called. The use of his old name jolting Bumblebee out of his thoughts.

He walked over to Ratchet and Wheeljack, the latter speaking up, “I was just telling Ratchet about my check up on Charlie. I thought you’d want to know.”

Check up? On Charlie? Bumblebee tipped his head to the side.

“Optimus asked me to check on her wound, and I wanted to let you know she’s doing just fine, it’s just a scar now,” Wheeljack informed happily.

Bumblebee hadn’t needed Wheeljack to tell him that. Charlie would have told him herself, and he could tell by the way she behaved this morning that the wound wasn’t bothering her, he had no need for Wheeljack to check and inform about his best friend who he knew better-

_Why am I getting angry?_ The image of Wheeljack lifting Charlie’s shirt and examining the scar, of him watching over her instead of Bumblebee. It made his circuits twist uncomfortably and a shade of irritation entered his mind. He wasn’t sure why.

_Stop being weird_ ,he ordered himself sternly. He _wanted_ his comrades and Charlie to get along, checking on her wounds was part of it. And sometimes that would include touching her… The thought of Wheeljack running his fingers over Charlie’s skin made him quickly push the image away before he could think of anymore ludicrous thoughts.

Ratchet had his optics on Bumblebee and for a terrified moment he thought his emotions were shown on his face.

“How do you think the AllSpark human can help in this war?” Ratchet asked instead.

“Her name’s Charlie,” Wheeljack replied, copying Bumblebee’s thoughts. “And she can already heal a Cybertronian with just a touch. She could make your job easier.”

Ratchet sent a glare to his friend that wasn’t unlike Burns. “I don’t need to be replaced anytime soon.”

Wheeljack’s optics nearly fell out of his head. “I didn’t mean it like that, I just-”

“Besides,” Ratchet went on. “Surely she can be of more use than just a healer. Ironhide and I were throwing around ideas…”

Bumblebee adored Ironhide but he felt a stirring of dread at the mention of his name, he knew the Autobot didn’t hold any fondness for Charlie-not after he learned what had happened to Cliffjumper.

“If the cube of the AllSpark is now useless, the human now has a duty to Cybertron, including reviving our old home.”

For a moment the yellow robot entertained the idea of saving his old home, but there was a very obvious problem with that idea. Charlie would not survive the trip to Cybertron.

_I’ll never get to show her my home…_

“Humans can’t leave this planet’s atmosphere,” Wheeljack spoke up. “My new friend Otis told me about it. They used to wear special suits to go to their planet’s moon but I can’t imagine those are of any use now.”

“What do the humans call the liquids in their bodies?”

The new question came from Ironhide as the rest of the Autobots walked over to join the three.

“Oh, I didn’t ask Otis,” Wheeljack said. “I’ll ask him next time.”

“Why?” Arcee asked, stepping forward to stand at Bumblebee’s side. He was grateful to have her next to him, he had a feeling he wasn’t going to like where Ironhide was going.

“Since it’s apparently not suppose to be blue, it’s not impossible to say the power of the AllSpark is _in_ that human liquid,” Ironhide pointed out.

Wheeljack and Arcee exchanged a look and Bumblebee felt his circuits twist even tighter. Ratchet and Optimus didn’t let their gazes fall from the red Autobot. “What are you getting at?” the former asked.

“Perhaps if we just acquired some of it-not _all_ of it,” he added the last part with a glance at Bumblebee. “But enough to take back to Cybertron and see if it can restore our home.”

“And if it can’t?” Arcee asked.

“There’s no ifs,” Wheeljack said, “With the state we left Cybertron in…Charlie is too small, if we took the amount we need it would…”

_She wouldn’t survive_ , Bumblebee though sickeningly as a tense silence fell between the group.

Arcee broke in, “Ironhide, you know we can’t…”

Wheeljack broke in, “You’re not thinking of doing it anyway!”

Ironhide glowered, “Don’t put words in my mouth! I’m just trying to find a way we can revive Cybertron.”

“I can understand that,” Ratchet came to his defense. “No one, not even the Decepticons, had expected we’d ever see the AllSpark again.”

“But it’s not just the AllSpark now,” Wheeljack pointed out. “It’s _Charlie_ too.”

“I know that,” Ratchet nearly snapped. “And perhaps we should focus on getting the AllSpark _out_  of her. That would leave eighty percent of our problems solved.”

“Couldn’t that hurt her though?” Arcee asked. “Her and the AllSpark are one now, it might be keeping her alive, especially considering the damage she took from the Cons.”

“Then what do you suggest?” Ironhide asked, a scathing edge to his voice that made the femme bot scowl.

“I suggest we either learn more or get the Decepticons off this planet, first.”

“Which we’d need the AllSpark to do!”

“We can’t put Charlie in danger like that!”

“This is a war and she is a part of it now! She has to take risks, _Cliffjumper took risks, and she’s just a_ -” He slammed his mouth shut before he could finish the sentence, glaring to the side, his optics dark with grief and frustration.

_It’s not Charlie’s fault Cliffjumper is offline, and it’s not her fault he’s a piece of her now…_ Bumblebee looked to Optimus. He had been quiet through the argument and his expression didn’t give away his thoughts.

The other Autobots had turned to their leader too.

Wheeljack spoke up, “What do you think we should do, Optimus?”

He hesitated, his optics thoughtful as he thought of what to say. And Bumblebee realized with fear he didn’t want to hear it.

Transforming into vehicle mode Bumblebee whirled around and drove away, back toward the Sanctuary, ignoring the yells and calls of the other Autobots.

Driving right into the water on his way to the island Bumblebee couldn’t calm his nerves. He knew Optimus would do what he thought was best. But Bumblebee didn’t know what Optimus thought was best, and what if it wasn’t keeping Charlie safe? If he agreed with Ironhide and Ratchet…Bumblebee didn’t want to go against his leader, but he wouldn’t do anything that could endanger Charlie either. She was too important, even if the rest of his team didn’t see that.

 

.

 

Charlie was indulging in some star gazing on the edge of the island when familiar footsteps reached her ears. She turned around to smile at the yellow robot as he sat beside her.

“Hey, jerk,” she teased.

She didn’t think Bumblebee knew what the word meant but he did give her a confused look which was enough for her to continue.

“I noticed you bailed without me,” Charlie crossed her arms with a mock pout. “Without even a goodbye either, it was incredibly rude.”

Bumblebee hummed and leaned to press the side of his head against her own, eyes sparkling with humor.

Charlie rolled her eyes, “But I _guess_ I can forgive you, but only because I’m an incredibly merciful person. But you better not forget me the next time you go out or you’ll be sorry.” She smiled big up at the robot as he sat up. “Were you checking on Optimus and the others?”

He nodded, but the mirth in his eyes and posture immediately left. His shoulders sank and he gazed out into the water, his eyes appearing dim.

“Bee, what’s wrong?” Charlie asked, reaching forward to grab his hand.

He patted her hand as if to reassure her but she wasn’t buying it. “Did something happen with the others?”

His eyes narrowed and he shook his head, Charlie swallowed, worry making her throat ache. “Did you argue?” What could they argue over? What problems would they… “Was it about me?”

When he didn’t answer Charlie moved to stand in front of him, reaching her hands out to cup his face and make him meet her eye.

“We’re a team, right?”

He didn’t hesitate to nod.

“Good. Now I know you can’t talk, but you still need to let me know if things are bothering you, okay? If it’s about me or not, I’ll help you fix it.” She looked up at the star-speckled sky. “We can go talk to them tomorrow, if you want.”

Bumblebee shook his head and she saw a spark of anger flash in his eyes. Charlie sighed, “Tomorrow _night_ , then. No exceptions. They’re your friends, Bumblebee. And I like them. And I don’t want you to fight with them.” _Especially if its about me…me and the AllSpark_.

Bumblebee nodded, looking slightly appeased.

Charlie offered him a smile. “Would a hug make you feel better?” She asked more for her sake than his.

In response Bumblebee laid his head against her chest, eyes closed and hand resting against the scar on her hip, it didn’t hurt anymore. Charlie released the smallest of sighs and wrapped her arms around his head, noticing how he was slightly damp from the drive to the island, but still warm.

He was always warm.

 

.

 

“Bumblebee…darling…”

Bumblebee looked down to meet Sally Watson’s optics. The human woman gave him a polite, but strained smile. “Could you…step back a bit?”

The autobot’s shadow hovered over Sally and her patient, one of the humans named Reggie who had wounded his leg before finding Sanctuary. Sally, being a human equivalent of a medic, had been tending to it with what little supplies she had.

And Bumblebee supposed that Reggie didn’t appreciate a giant robot leering over him while he had his injury checked-at least, he wasn’t if his expression was anything to go by.

With an apologetic buzz Bumblebee moved away, going to sit by Charlie who was feeding baby Sam a cup full of some kind of strange mush.

“Mom likes her space when she works,” Charlie smiled up at her friend as he sat next to her.

Bumblebee’s only response was a shrug, his optics turning away from the makeshift medic office which was just a secluded corner of the Sanctuary’s village. Instead he gave his attention to the mainland beyond the island, where Prime and the Autobots, and Burns and his soldiers, were out there, looking for supplies and safety.

Lennox had asked Bumblebee if he wanted to come with, but he had declined the offer. He wasn’t ready to face Prime and the others after last night, he wasn’t sure he’d be ready hours later, despite the promise he made to Charlie.

Luckily for him, he was given a distraction kliks later when Ron walked over, a handheld transceiver (or walkie-talkie as Charlie and Otis called it) in his hands and a confused look on his face.

“What’s up?” Charlie asked, standing up with Sam laying his head on his shoulder, patting his back. Sally looked up from applying fresh bandages on Reggie’s leg.

“So,” Ron began. “As you know, Burns always leaves me in charge while they’re all gone.” That was something Bumblebee couldn’t quite understand. He liked Ron just fine, he just didn’t seem the leader type.

“And they left me this-” Ron held up the transceiver, “So they could keep contact with Sanctuary, make sure we’re all good over here, and to let us know if they find supplies or will be awhile before they return.”

“Yes,” Sally walked over to him. “What’s the problem?”

Ron looked down at the transceiver, “They didn’t tell me what to do when a stranger contacted _us_.”

Charlie hurried over with her mother a pace behind. “What stranger? Who is he?”

“He’s on our radio wave,” Ron explained. “Said his name is-”

Before he could finish there was a screech of static from the transceiver and Bumblebee’s antennas popped up.

“Hey, hey, hey! You still there? Rob? Over.”

“It’s Ron,” he replied, lifting the device to his face. “I’m with my girlfriend and her daughter, over.”

“There’s more of you, over!”

The voice was male, it sounded older than Charlie but younger than Burns. There was something…different about it. This voice didn’t carry the wary edge the other humans had.

Charlie-with one hand holding Sam-reached out and took the transceiver from Ron. “Hello? My name is Charlie, who are you? _Where_ are you?”

There was only silence in response. Charlie’s brow furrowed and she looked to Ron.

“He won’t respond unless you say ‘over’,” the man explained, a sudden tired weight to his voice.

“What is your name, over?”

“My name is Cade Yeager,” came the answer. “I’m a lone survivor in the Marin Headlands, over.”

Charlie looked up to her mother, “That’s close.” She looked past Bumblebee, out toward the distance where-he assumed-these headlands were.

“Do-do you need us to come get you, over?” Charlie asked.

There was another moment of quiet, but Cade was quicker to pick up, “Can you?… Over.”

“We’re closer than you think,” Charlie explained. “But I’d rather not say where over the radio, over.”

“Ah, cause the robots? Don’t worry, babes. I’ve been testing so many channels. If those dumbasses are checking them, they aren’t doing it frequently.”

Charlie looked up to Bumblebee who only shrugged. He didn’t put it past Starscream and the other Cons to not bother keeping up with radio channels. Not unless they were looking for something.

_Like Autobots_ … Bumblebee looked up at sky.

“Do you want us to send someone for you?” Ron took the transceiver back. “There are other surivovrs, we have supplies. We could help you, over.”

“More like I can help you, over,” Cade replied smugly. Then, much less confident. “But yeah, please. Over.”

“How about Bumblebee and I go?” Charlie asked when the conversation was over.

Sally looked up at the robot, “I don’t know if this Cade person is as open-minded as you, Charlie. And it’s so dangerous out there for you…”  “I know,” Charlie admitted, handing over Sam who had fallen asleep during the conversation. “But Bumblebee is the one most qualified for leaving the Sanctuary and since he can’t talk I can be translator. But we can’t leave this Cade guy to fend for himself.”

Sally looked to Ron who shrugged helplessly, “I know you don’t want me to agree with her Sal…but I do. This Cade guy is all alone, he needs help. Specifically, he needs _these two’s_ help.”

 


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may not have gotten Cade's character right. But I definitely wrote a character that Mark Whalberg would play. So close enough.

Charlie wished she could have enjoyed the drive to the Headlands more. Main reason being the drive was _under water_.

It turned out Bumblebee had the ability to keep the inside of his car mode completely dry while driving under water. Charlie had sat in slack-jawed silence, staring out into the dark abyss that was the water that surrounded the Sanctuary.

“Bee,” she had breathed, staring out the window. “When all of this is over…I gotta take you to the ocean.” She could only imagine how breathtaking a sight that would be to share with her friend. Bumblebee buzzed in agreement and her chest swelled unexpectedly.

“Okay, Bee,” Charlie began as she stepped out of the Volkswagen. “I need you to stay behind me. I’ll do the talking.”

They were in the hilly landscape of the Headlands, she had the vaguest of memories of visiting this place with her mother and father when she was a toddler. She blew a strand of hair out of her face, wishing she had been able to take the walkie-talkie with her. But they had voted that Ron needed it more than she.

“Once we find this guy, I’ll have to explain to him that you are my friend and that the Earth has been caught up in the Autobot and Decepticon war.” She led Bumblebee up the slope, taking note how untouched the Headlands were compared to the city surrounding it. “I feel he’s either going to take it all in stride, or not believe a thing we say and jump into the water to get away from us.”

She glanced up at Bumblebee who hummed in response, looking as concerned as she was pretending not to be.

“I’m sure he won’t freak out,” Charlie tried to assure him. “I mean, even if he wasn’t. What’s he gonna do to _you_?”

She turned her head to face forward again-only to whirl around with a yelp as a sudden crash and shuffle came from just behind her.

Hair slapping her face Charlie turned out to see Bumblebee on his back, chains were wrapped around his legs and tied to the near by trees. The gray metal was grass stained and tipped with leaves that were fluttering to the ground.

Bumblebee’s eyes were large and wide, looking around as if he didn’t know what just happened.

“Bee!” she screeched, rushing forward to start untangling the heavy metal chains from his legs.

She had barely made any process before the sound of running footsteps made her look over her shoulder.

A man, grungy looking and in a leather jacket, around the age of Lennox and Epps, was rushing downhill toward them, rifle in hand.

“AH HA!” he yelled out triumphantly. “I got you, you son of a _bitch_!”

_It’s Cade Yeager_ , Charlie realized with a jolt, recognizing the voice. Scowling she planted her feet, staying between Bumblebee and Cade who struggled to a halt in front of her.

“Did you do this?!” she waved her arm toward the robot who was wisely staying still, looking at Cade as if he was feral animal you didn’t want to startle.

“Set a trap to capture one of the killer robots? Saved your life cause you have no peripheral vision? Uh, _yeah_. Obviously.” Was the sarcastic reply.

Charlie bit back an angry retort, reminding herself that this Cade guy had no idea about the Cybertronian war. “ _Bumblebee_ , isn’t a threat.”

Cade blinked, brow furrowed, then looked up at the robot. “This walking school bus is called Bumblebee.”

“Well, technically it’s B-127-but I call him Bumblebee. He’s my _friend_. And we came here to help you!”

The man looked between the two for a few moments. During those moments Bumblebee felt secure enough to sit up, the chains straining.

“ _Friend_?” Cade echoed, as if he didn’t know what the word meant.

Charlie gave Cade a quick summary, explaining that both good _and_ bad robots had arrived on Earth, fighting an age-long war. Bumblebee was one of the good robots and she’d happily give him excruciating details and introduce him to Bumblebee’s leader if he just helped her get her friend out of the trap.

And then Charlie was surprised. She had expected Cade to continue to be suspicious, similar to Burns. But instead-after only a moment of him taking in her words-Cade’s eyes brightened and he looked up at Bumblebee in the same way Otis did. “Stellar.”

With an easy apology he helped Charlie remove the chains from Bumblebee, bragging that he had set up similar traps around the Headlands in case the robots came stomping around.

“What if they flew around?” Charlie couldn’t help but ask.

Cade nodded to the rifle flung over his shoulder. “I have good aim. I’d shot ‘em right where they’d explode.”

Charlie shot a glance at Bumblebee, both sharing the same thought: _Is this guy serious?_ But she was wise enough not to reply, and Bumblebee physically couldn’t.

When they tossed the last of the chains away the robot stood up, stretching and testing out his joints.

“You okay?” Charlie asked and smiled at the nod she received.

“Again, sorry about that, bud,” Cade said, turning on his heel and heading back up slope. “But in my defense I thought you were gonna blow-what’s your name again? Chancey?”

“Charlie,” she answered as she and Bumblebee followed after. “What have you been doing out here?”

“I’ve been _prospering_ ,” Cade replied with a lift of his chin. “Collecting weapons, food, clothes, manning my new hide out. Fun fact about me, I was raised by doomsday preppers-everyone called Grandpa crazy.” He threw his arm out toward Bumblebee, “Well, look whose crazy now.”

_Oh, I have a guess._ Charlie thought, her mouth pulled into a thin line. This Cade Yeager…was kinda nuts.

The man turned to walk backward so he could look up at Bumblebee, flashing him the grin of a five year old on Christmas morning. “My gramps may not have known all the details, but he knew other life was out there and one day they’d arrive.” His brow furrowed though his smile stayed in place. “I didn’t expect you to be so…yellow. And small.”

“Leave him alone,” Charlie huffed. “His color and size is just perfect for him.”

Cade looked to her, then up to Bumblebee, then back to her. Before she could decipher the new expression on his face Cade tripped on a rock and fell on his back. Bumblebee releasing a laugh before abruptly stopping, not meaning for it to slip. But Charlie made sure the man saw her smirk while she helped him up.

 

.

 

“While I’d have preferred to stay in the family’s old bunker, that was pretty close to town and therefore blasting range-therefore one of those metal dickbags-is it okay if I say that? You’re much younger than you sounded over the walkie-talkie so I don’t know if your parents have a strict no swearing rule or…”

Charlie gave Cade a droll look, “It’s a free country.”

“Right so they hit right near my bunker which apparently wasn’t built for alien fire power and I was almost buried. So what do I do? I get all the guns and supplies I can fit in my truck and book it to the one place they haven’t touched-yet. Marin Headlands. Then I set up shop at the visitation center and have been here ever since. I’ve been trying to get the water working but…eh.”

Charlie stood before the visitation center, Cade standing next to her with his hands on his hips and looking overly proud of himself. You would think he was the king of the apocalypse. But if Charlie was being honest, the emptiness of the center carried a kind of dread, reminding her how empty the world had become. She couldn’t imagine being alone here for a long amount of time and Cade’s mannerism was starting to make sense.

Bumblebee was walking around the area, keeping his eyes either on the sky or in the distance around them. The hovering threat of a Decepticon arriving anywhere added to the desolation of the Headlands. Charlie swallowed and looked back to Cade, “So, you ready to go?”

“Oh, yeah. Where the hell is Rob and those other survivors he was bragging about?”

“It’s Ron,” Charlie corrected. “And a few soldiers made a camp on what’s left of Alcatraz. There are other survivors there.”

“ALCATRAZ!” Cade yelled so suddenly-and so loudly, that Charlie jumped back and Bumblebee whirled around to stare at him.

Cade smacked his head, “Son. Of. A. Bitch! That is the coolest place to live in an apocalypse ever! Why didn’t I think of that?”

_It’s like a child in a rugged twenty something’s body_ , Charlie realized. _I don’t know if I can mentally handle any more time with him_. “So is that a yes?”

“Yeah, but not for Alcatraz. Even though that-again-is one of the coolest things ever. I’m doing this cause I want to meet Bee’s buds. I assume they’re taller and have more intimidating colors. Don’t answer, I’ll figure it out on my own, let me go grab my stuff!”

Cade rushed into the building and while Charlie considered going after him, she thought of how he’d react driving under water and decided she’d need a mental break before then.

Instead Charlie followed Bumblebee who had walked off to get a better look at the city skyline and Golden Gate Bridge, or what was left of it.

“We might be awhile,” Charlie spoke up to him. “Cade has to grab his… ‘stuff’. That’ll either take five seconds or all day.”

A buzzing chuckle and Bumblebee sat down on the grass, voting for the ‘all day’ option. Charlie walked over and leaned against his arm, eyes out on the sky, dimmed by the clouds covering the sky.

Her eyes moved away to look over at the Golden Gate bridge, the middle had been blown apart, leaving a large gap. Bumblebee followed her gaze and made a noise similar to a sigh.

“It can be rebuilt,” Charlie assured him. He looked at her and she smiled softly, “You’re very easy to read, you know that?”

He tilted his head.

“You are,” she insisted. “You can’t talk…you don’t even have a mouth…but it’s so easy to tell what you’re thinking.” She chuckled, “I can even tell what you’re thinking now, if you are interested.”

Bumblebee hummed questioningly and she gave him a cheeky grin. “You’re thinking-WOW! Charlie is _sooo_  cool and smart. I should tell Optimus to go ahead and make her the first human Autobot. And even-” she broke into a shrill of laughter as Bumblebee reached out and gently grabbed her waist, mercilessly tickling her sides.

“Ah ha ha ha! Stop it! This won’t change that I’m so much cooler than you!”

Through the bubble of laughter she lost her balance and would’ve fell if Bumblebee hadn’t tightened his grip and pulled her closer. Charlie wrapped her arms around his neck and let out a huff. “You’re so lucky you’re not ticklish, Bee. _So lucky_.”

Bumblebee shook beneath her as he laughed and she buried her face into his shoulder to hide her smile. The wariness that had weighed her bones just a minute ago, her frustration with Cade, it all faded away in the robot’s warmth. Many things did. And, as always when her mind circled back to this, she was baffled by the emotional change she had gone through, how she had never had a relationship with anyone else with Bumblebee. How he had changed everything _for the better_. No matter the bad things that were happening, no matter that beyond and around her was destruction…she could handle everything with Bumblebee next to her.

Charlie breathed against him, “…I love-”

Bumblebee jolted in place when Charlie pushed back with such force she fell to the ground. Her tongue stinging from where she had bit it. Her face on fire as she realized what she had almost said.

_That’s not-I didn’t mean it like-but I…wait what?!_

Charlie had almost confessed her feelings to an alien robot…confessed her _romantic_ feelings to an _alien robot_.

_Wait-WHAT!?_

 

 


	30. Chapter 30

Worry tugged Bumblebee’s spark. Charlie was looking up at him with a strange expression on her face, it reminded him of fear. And her face was red…was she ill?

Even more concerned he reached his hand out toward her, only for Charlie to jump to her feet, startling him.

“Sorry for pushing you,” she said it so quickly it was practically one word. “I just…I was…”

Before she could finish-if she even would finish-the sound of running footsteps made their heads turn.

Cade was running toward them from the visitation center, but his optics were on something beyond them. “Look!” he called out. “Look! Is that your Autobots?”

Bumblebee followed his gaze, past the Headlands, nearer to the giant broken bridge, where five silhouettes were slowly making their way.

Bumblebee nodded, recognizing the gait of his comrades, his optics narrowed when he remembered yesterday’s talk.

Cade’s optics lit up. “Take me to go meet him! They look _so_ much bigger than you!”

_What is with you and height?_ Bumblebee thought to himself but nodded once again. He glanced over to Charlie, her face wasn’t as red but she didn’t meet his optic when she spoke up:

“Go ahead and introduce him. I’ll wait here. I…don’t know if they’ll want to see me right now.”

_She really can read my mind_ , Bumblebee thought, with both wariness and affection. She knows there was a disagreement about her…but she’s wrong to think they don’t want to see her. Right?

Ironhide’s words returned to his head. Surely they wanted to see her for the _right_ reasons…right?

“Cool, you can stay here, Charles,” Cade nodded to her. “We’ll return with five giant robots!”

And then, surprising both of them-Cade climbed up onto Bumblebee’s shoulder. The Autobot freezing at an awkward angle to keep the human from falling. Even if he kinda-sorta wanted him to.

“Away, Bumble! To the Autobots!”

Bumblebee tried to catch Charlie’s optic one last time but she had already turned her back on the two, heading back to the visitation center. Trying not to let his shoulders sink-Cade would probably fall off-Bumblebee turned and headed toward his friends, keeping his pace slow for Cade’s sake.

The human was all too willing to fill the walk with noise. “What’s your friends name? Oh, right, you can’t talk. Sorry about that. Oh man, do your friends talk?! Do any giant alien robots talk?! I never heard the bad ones talk either! It would be _just my luck_ to take part in a literal sci-fi movie and not get to talk to _any_ aliens!”

_Primus, it never stops._ Bumblebee pushed his pace a little bit more, making Cade quiet down as he grabbed the Autobot’s head to keep his balance. Bumblebee hoped Wheeljack or Arcee or literally any of the others would be merciful enough to take Cade off his servos.

He held his arm out and started to wave as he started to make out the features of his friends. Optimus was the first to notice him and stopped immediately, the rest of the group halting after him and following his gaze.

“Bumblebee!” Wheeljack called out and started to make his way uphill to his ally.

“Bumblebee stop.” Cade’s voice, suddenly serious, made his footsteps falter.

He hummed in question, looking at Cade who was staring at the ground with a dark, faraway look in his optics. “There’s something I’m forgetting…Something important.”

Suddenly his optics bulged and Cade yelled out to Wheeljack, waving his arms frantically and nearly falling to the ground. “WAIT! STOP STOP! I SET ONE OF MY TRAPS HERE!”

Bumblebee jolted in place and mimicked Cade, waving frantically at Wheeljack but it was too late. A moment later Wheeljack fell flat onto his face, chains wrapped around his legs.

Bumblebee winced as the other Autobots rushed to the fallen robot’s side.

“Sorry!” Cade called.

 

.

 

“Okay, Charlie girl, calm down,” Charlie stood pacing in front of the visitation center, wanting the shade the building offered to cool her blushing skin.

She was blushing… _blushing_! Over _Bumblebee_!

“He’s my friend, my best friend, I get that. But he’s also not human! So…” She trailed off, trying to wrap her mind around her sudden confession. Her sudden feelings.  

“Maybe I’m just a bit confused? It is an apocalypse, I just don’t have a lot of romantic options so I projected those feelings onto my friend-” She couldn’t even finish that excuse. She had Memo, Lennox, and Epps, all very sweet and attractive and had been nothing but good to her. But her heart didn’t beat like this when she looked at any of them.

Perhaps she was confused because of everything she had been through with Bumblebee. She recalled how she felt about him when they first met… She had been terrified of him-sure he wasn’t that much different than the Decepticons, even if he didn’t harm her.

_But then he brought my dad’s picture to me._

Said picture was with her mother now, resting in the shed the family slept in. Her mother had been so shocked and…touched, after she had told her what Bumblebee had done for them _._

_He did that for me…and he danced with me…_  Every time that memory resurfaced she could feel the warmth of Bumblebee as she nuzzled into him on that sandy beach.

_…and he protected me…_  She’d never forget the fear she had felt when Bumblebee had fallen off that bridge, nearly ripped to pieces to protect her and the others. She had held his head between her hands and hadn’t known what to do if he died, a life without Bumblebee had-at that point-become impossible.

_I really have fallen in love with him…_

Charlie dropped to her knees in defeat, her chest tightening. “I’m a human…” And he wasn’t. He was an Autobot who had a whole destiny before him, after they defeated the Decepticons-she knew they would, _somehow_!-he’d have to leave, to return to his home and live his life. She was only one small, short chapter of it…

_He’d never accept how I feel…it would ruin our friendship, he might even be disgusted by me._ Tears suddenly welled up in her eyes and she viciously rubbed them away. _Only you, Charlie. You stupid, stupid girl._

The dim shade the center offered suddenly grew darker, a new shadow hung over her.

_Back already_. She quickly tried to erase any signs of her tears. _Leave it to Bee to walk as silent as a wraith when I don’t want him to see me._

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she hurriedly assure. “I just need a quick moment then we can go.”

“Well, do hurry up. I’m pretty sure I’m on a deadline.”

Ice shot down Charlie’s spine. That wasn’t the voice of an Autobot. Slowly she turned to look over her shoulder, and was met with red eyes.

A jet, a Decepticon, one she had never seen before, was crouched before her. The visitation center just hid him from the gazes of the Autobots downhill.

“Ah, ah, ah!” The Con slammed his hand down on Charlie before she could bolt-her chest pressed hard against the grass, his palm putting pressure on her back.

“Please don’t run,” he sighed. “I’m tired. I know you and Starscream think that teleporting is as easy as lifting a servor but it’s really not.”

_Teleporting?_ No wonder she hadn’t heard him arrive, and no wonder the Autobots hadn’t seen him. A teleporting Decepticon was _just_ what they needed.

And this one kept talking: “I have been following Prime and his minions for what feels like solar cycles-I still have no idea what they’re doing. Looking for a base, I guess? But they didn’t have _you_ with them, I was looking all over for _you_. I _assumed_  you would be with B-127, and I _also assumed_  he’d be with his beloved leader. But no, neither of you were and it was very annoying. I was about to give up, about to go back to Starscream empty-handed and pray to Primus he wouldn’t rip my spark out.”

He leaned over her, his eyes a few inches away from her face, red light glowing on her skin. “But then you just…showed up. Even better, you left B-127 and isolated yourself. I’m very thankful, by the way.”

Charlie swallowed the lump of terror in her throat, it didn’t budge.

“What do-what do you want from me?”

He blinked, as if he hadn’t expected her to talk. “ _I_ want nothing to do with you disgusting little flesh bags. Starscream wants you, and he’s the boss.”

“Why does he want _me_?” She wondered…if she screamed for help, would he snap her spine? Should she risk it? The Autobots were so close… But could he teleport faster than they could run?

The Con rolled his eyes, “Don’t play dumb, you have the AllSpark inside you.”

“The what?” Charlie tried to exude confusion while inside her heart had stopped. The Decepticons knew-and they wouldn’t hesitate to tear her open if they thought it would be in their best interests.

“The _AllSpark_ ,” he frowned down at her, but after a moment of Charlie giving him her most befuddled look, he suddenly looked less unsure. “You know what it is-it’s _inside_ you.”

“I-I think you have the wrong human,” Charlie swallowed.

The Decepticon straightened up, looking away with a thoughtful expression, his hand still pinning her down. “You _are_. You’re B-127’s pet.”

“B-who?” she tried. Please be stupid, please be stupid! “I think you have the wrong human, there’s a lot of girls with brown hair and eyes so…”

For a slither of a second the Con looked genuinely distressed, but then he shook his head, his eyes hardening with irritation and determination. “Don’t try to trick me! If Starscream wants you, Starscream will have you!”

“ _Get your hands off her_!”

A red shape slammed into the Decepticon, sending him rolling down the hill and Charlie gasping on the grass.

She sat up, shaky, as Bumblebee and Cade appeared beside her. “You okay, kid?” Cade asked while Bumblebee examined her.

“I-I’m fine.” Charlie’s eyes stayed on the fight. It had been Ironhide of all bots who had saved her and was now grappling with the jet. “Who is that?”

“Skywarp,” came the deep voice of Optimus. Charlie looked up to see the other Autobots arrive. Arcee hurrying after Ironhide and Skywarp to assist her friend.

Wheeljack knelt down next to Bumblebee, the two Autobots looking at her with concern in their eyes, but Charlie was looking up at Optimus. “They know about the AllSpark.”

Optimus’s eyes widened, Ratchet muttered something that sounded like a curse, and Wheel and Bumblebee exchanged a look.

A furious yell brought everyone’s attention back to the fight where Skywarp had slipped out of Ironhide and Arcee’s grip and hovered several feet into the sky, scowling.

“We _know_ you have the AllSpark, Autobots!” he snarls. “And the Decepticons are _going_ to take it from you!”

Ironhide shot into the sky but just before it hit Skywarp vanished, having teleported.

“Come back here,” Optimus called to the two after a few moments of silence. “He’s gone.”

“He’ll be back though,” Ratchet growled, still looking around the sky as if he expected Skywarp to return. “And he’ll bring an army.”

“Don’t worry, Ratchet.” Ironhide headed up the hill, holding his arm. “It’s _just_ a Decepticon army, we can handle that.” His words got a small smile from both Arcee and Wheeljack.

Charlie stood up and took a closer look at the arm the red Autobot cradled. There were three long scratches in his arm that were oozing blue.

“Ironhide, let me fix your arm,” Charlie said, only remembering what Ironhide thought of her when he turned his blues eyes to glare down at her.

“Ratchet can do it just fine,” he replied stonily.

“Probably,” Ratchet agreed. “But I won’t. Now’s the perfect time for us to see the AllSpark’s power in action.”

Wheeljack’s eyes lit up and he leaned even closer to Charlie, making her jump back. “Yes, yes, I want to see as well!”

Feeling uncomfortable Charlie looked back up at Ironhide who looked even more irritated. But he finally let out a sigh and knelt down, offering his wounded arm to Charlie.

She moved to step forward but then Cade threw his arm into the air, having been uncharacteristically quiet during the conversation. “Hey, sorry. I kinda went into a state of shock for a minute there cause like-that one bad robot. You called him Skywarp? He just teleported and like, that was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen and I’m really hoping one of you can do that. But also, what’s the AllSpark? What’s Charlie’s going to do to Big Red’s arm?”

“My name,” Ironhide growled. “Is not Big Red.”

_He knew Cade for exactly sixty seconds and he’s already fed up. How did Cade do that?_

“Just watch,” she told him before stepping forward and placing her hands over the scratches of Ironhide’s arm.

She let out a breath, pushing her thoughts of healing the robot forward. Almost immediately the familiar blue light lit up her hands, shining against the red metal. She watched as the blue liquid was sucked into the wound, the metal knitting together before closing completely.

“There,” she breathed, stepping away. She was starting to notice an ache in her arms when she used the healing power. She looked up at Ironhide, “Do you feel better?”

Ironhide looked away, “I’m fine…thank you.”

"And thank _you_ ," she replied. "For saving me from Skywarp."

The only response was a small grunt.

She smiled softly before looking over to the other Autobots. They all looked at her with a new shine in their eyes, something almost like awe. It flattered Charlie, but it also made her feel a new sense of pressure.

But then Ratchet spoke up, “Is he okay?”

He pointed to Cade, who was staring at Charlie with a loose jaw.

“Cade, you okay?” she asked.

“You-you did-you-” he pointed a shaky finger at her, his legs wobbly. “Blue-super powers-what-”

“Easy, easy,” Ratchet, who was the closest, leaned toward him. “No need to bust a circuit.”

“I have never busted a circuit,” Cade replied, still staring at Charlie. “Now catch me.”

Ratchet didn’t move and let the human crumple to the ground.

 

.

The group headed back toward the Sanctuary. It was clear they had run out of time, the Decepticons would be here soon, and they needed to prepare for it.

But despite this Wheeljack didn’t carry the weight of his allies. He was holding a passed out Cade, Charlie sitting next to him as the Autobot talked animatedly to her. He had _almost_ been as impressed as Cade by her healing properties, _almost_.

Bumblebee watched the two in front of him, trying not to let it bother him that she didn’t want him to carry her. She had said she was worried about Cade, and Wheeljack hadn’t been subtle about wanting to talk about her abilities.

But it still hurt when she wasn’t at his side.

He was so focused on Charlie he hadn’t noticed Optimus move to walk by his side.

“You shouldn’t have run away last night,” Prime told him. His voice not angry, but Bumblebee still buried his head between his shoulders.

“I know you were upset,” the leader continued. “But I also need you to know we were not going to harm Charlie."

Bumblebee only nodded.

"I agree that the AllSpark is too much of a responsibility for her to have," he went on. "But we will not do what Ironhide suggested to get it out of her. And I must ask you not to hold judgement over him. He willingly carries the burdens of a leader on his shoulders, and grieves for our losses in his own way."

Bumblebee wouldn't have argued with that if he could talk.

"But right now, we can not look for a way to remove the AllSpark. I imagine the Decepticons will be coming back soon, we must prepare to protect Charlie, the humans, and ourselves. And we will need to fight as a team that can trust each other."

Bumblebee squared his shoulders. He agreed with Optimus, and when Starscream showed himself-Bumblebee would make his leader proud.

 

 


	31. Chapter 31

“Ron? Do you have a minute?”

Charlie stood next to her step-father as they watched Wheeljack and Ratchet work. With the risk of the Cons finding them any day now, Prime decided that their first priority was keeping Charlie and the other humans safe.

Wheeljack had come up with the idea of hollowing out a space in the island, a place for the humans to hide out and cover the opening with debris.

Meanwhile Cade was having a blast with his new ‘best friends’, Epps and Lennox. The two soldiers cleaning their weapons while Cade sat cross-legged between them, messing with a pile of miscellaneous items that he had brought along with him. When Charlie had asked what he was doing he had replied that he was making a bomb to fight the Cons. Charlie left before the temptation to ask if he was serious was too great.

But now she stood next to Ron, not sure if her next question was appropriate while they were getting ready for an attack. However Charlie wanted to believe that if she got this sorted, the rest of the apocalypse would be easier to bare.

“Yeah, Charlie?” he asked, keeping his eyes on the Autobots as they shoved dirt and crumpled cement to the side.

“Could I…” she swallowed awkwardly. “I need some advice.”

Ron’s head snapped around so suddenly she thought he had broken his neck. He was looking at her with wide eyes and a hopeful smile, “You want _my_ advice?”

“Well, yeah…I feel more-comfortable asking you then Mom. At least for this topic.” She didn’t want to risk Sally putting two and two together.”

“O-oh,” Ron mumbled, looking as if on the verge of tears. “Of course. Let’s just-let’s just sit down and you can tell me what’s bothering you.”

Making herself comfortable on the dusty cement, Charlie began hesitantly. “Have you ever…liked someone romantically but…wasn’t sure you should?”

Ron frowned thoughtfully, his expression making it very obvious he was taking this _very_ seriously. “Well, _why_ can’t you like this person? Do you think Sally and I wouldn’t approve? Is it because of the whole end-of-the-world conundrum? Cause I promise we’d love whoever you love-parental love I mean-and _now_ is the best time to confess to whoever you’re in love with. As long as it’s appropriate.”

Charlie’s heart twisted. She knew Ron most likely meant something like age, or if there was mutual respect. But did inappropriate describe how she felt about Bumblebee? Would the Autobot himself think that?

“It’s more like-” Charlie went on. “I’m scared he won’t…like that I like him, and it’ll ruin our friendship.”

“Ah, so that’s it,” Ron nodded, as if he understood everything. He held his chin between his thumb and finger and stared at the ground, lost in thought. Charlie stayed quiet, letting him mule over his next words, until finally he nodded, as if he had made a decision.

He turned back to Charlie and clapped his hand onto her shoulder. “You should tell him. I can tell he likes you too.”

Charlie’s brow furrowed, “Tell who?” There was no way he figured out who she was in love with (not unless she was _painfully_ obvious).

“Well, I’m not sure which one you like, but I know the boys are all fond of you. Which they should! You’re a sweet girl, Charlie, smart and pretty too.”

Charlie’s eyes widened, “Uh-thanks, Ron but _what_ boys.”

He smirked as if they were sharing an inside joke. “Lennox, Epps, and Memo of course. I don’t know which one has caught your fancy, but me and your mother would approve whoever you choose. All three are fine young men and you have good taste.”

Charlie’s jaw dropped. He thought he liked one of them? Well, she did they were her friends but not she didn’t _like_ like them! “Ron, that’s not-”

“Unless you like Cade,” Ron continued. “I mean, nothing against the man but you’ve _just_ meant him and he’s a little…” Ron shrugged, sucking his teeth and Charlie covered her face with both hands.

“God, no. Ron. It’s-nevermind. Thank you.” She stood up and dusted off her jeans. “I really appriecate your advice, I’ll keep it in mind.” She glanced down at him, “But can this be a secret between just us?”

“Of course!” Ron insisted, looking ecstatic that Charlie trusted him with a secret.

_If he keeps quiet…I guess I can let him believe that until I decide what to do. The first thing being is telling the guys to ignore Ron in case he can’t keep quiet_.

 

.

 

Bumblebee sat next to Lennox, Epps, Cade, and even Memo while the Autobots kept watch. Wheeljack and Arcee were on the other side of the island, with Optimus, Ratchet, and Ironhide on the other side of the water with Burns. Together the crew were determined to keep the Cons from coming anywhere near Charlie and the other humans.

Speaking of Charlie…

Bumblebee looked behind him, uphill to where the rest of the survivors were. He hadn’t seen her all day. Was she avoiding him?

He recalled how she had acted at the Headlands, she had pushed away from him as if he was diseased. Had he done something wrong?

He turned back to the four beside him, tuning in to their conversation.

Cade, naturally, was speaking: “I know you guys are all ‘military trained’ but the apocalypse happened before you two could really get battle experience.”

Lennox and Epps exchanged a look that was a mixture of humor and annoyance. “And you have more battle experience?” Epps asked, leaning back on his hands.

“I’ve had _years_ to prepare for something almost specifically this-” he threw his arm out to Bumblebee, indicating him and the rest of the Cybertrons. “And I’ve been doing _awesome_ by myself. Also I just made a shit ton of home made bombs so like, take that as you will.”

“Oh, I will,” Lennox said drolly.

Cade rolled his eyes and knocked his shoulder against Memo, his larger frame nearly knocking down the smaller boy. “Don’t worry Memo, these two will be singing a different tune when we blow up a couple of robots with those bombs.”

The younger boy’s eyes widened and he let out a laugh similar to when he found out Bumblebee was a friend. “Thanks for the offer, Cade. But I think I’d be more use watching out for Sam and helping with the other kids.”

A nurturer,” Cade nodded, “That’s good. That’s respectful. I’m happy for ya.” He emphasized his words by running his hand have Memo’s curls, reminding Bumblebee of how older bots would treat him back in the Academy days.

He caught Lennox looking to Epps and mouthing the words: “Who _talks_ like that?”

He hummed a laugh before a familiar voice reached his audio receptors and caused his spark to twist.

“Guys! Hey, guys!” Charlie was bounding over to the group, her mildly worried expression focused solely on the Cade and the others.

“Hey! Chancy!” Cade cheered when the girl skidded to a halt in front of them.

“Don’t call me that, Cade,” Charlie wheezed, taking in a breath. Bumblebee leaned forward but her optics stayed on the humans.

_Why won’t you look at me?_

“Look, I just wanted to tell you guys that whatever Ron may or may not say to you in the near future…don’t believe him.”

With the exception of Cade the boys exchanged a confused look. “Who’s Ron?” the former asked.

The group gave him a look that as so close to disgust Bumblebee almost laughed again. “Rob,” Charlie finally said and recognition lit up the man’s eyes.

“What-what is Ron going to say to us?” Memo asked.

“That’s not important,” Charlie replied and the red returned to her cheeks. “The important thing is that _whatever_ he says involving me-don’t listen.” With a settled nod she _finally_ looked up to Bumblebee whose spark jumped at the sudden optic contact.

“You guys stay safe while keeping guard, okay,” she spoke to them all but kept her gaze on Bee. “Let me know if you need anything.” She turned abruptly and hurried back up the hill. Leaving the group of guys befuddled.

“I like her,” Lennox spoke up suddenly. “But she’s a weird chick.”

“You’d be weird too if you had an ancient alien artifact in your chest,” Epps pointed out.

“So are none of us are worried about what Ron may or may not tell us?” Memo asked, looking around.

“Well, honestly, how bad of the news can it be?” Cade asked. “We’re living in a post apocalypse and are on the look out for giant killer robots.”

“Bee, you okay?” Lennox’s concerned voice made Bumblebee turn his head. He had been looking out toward where Charlie had disappeared and there’s no telling what his face showed them. Ironhide had often committed he couldn’t _not_ hide his emotions.

But before Bumblebee could assure him Cade spoke up, “Ah, he’s just upset cause his girlfriend is giving him the silent treatment.”

His words were met with zero replies, Lennox, Epps, and Memo looking at him as if he had just announced he was an Autobot in disguise. Bumblebee tried to read their expressions to figure out what Cade had just said. _What’s a girlfriend_? He knew ‘girl’ was another word for a female and Charlie was his friend but…putting the two words together like that clearly meant something serious.

Cade had been idly biting his nail when he finally noticed the stares he was receiving. “What?”

Lennox moved to speak, “Why are you so-”

Suddenly Epps leaned forward, grabbing his fellow soldier’s arm and hissing at him, “Shut up, I’m bored. Why do you say that, Cade? Like, what’s your thought process?”

Cade gazed at the three, then up to Bee as if they were pulling his leg. “Is it-was it not obvious? Was it not like-common knowledge?”

“I think you’re looking at their friendship too…deeply,” Lennox replied.

“Pfft! Too deeply, okay. Can you believe these guys, Memo?” Cade jerked a thumb at the two soldiers.

Memo looked around the group before sighing, “I just wanted to help keep watch…”

Bumblebee buzzed in confusion which brought everyone’s attention back to him. “Ah!” Cade exclaimed, jumping to his feet. “Poor guy you probably don’t even know what a girlfriend is. Charlie has the hots for you.”

“Cade!” Lennox snapped.

“What? Fine! She’s _in love_. Is that the classy, mature way of saying it?”

They continued talking but Bumblebee’s audio receptors seemed to stop working. His thoughts running over what Cade had just said.

Charlie in love with him?

… _No, no. That’s not possible. They weren’t the same species. Besides, he glanced down at his friends, Lennox, Epps, Memo…maybe not Cade, they’re better fits for her anyway._

Did that upset him? He recalled how he felt when Wheeljack told him about checking over her wound. He had been…less than thrilled. But that, and any similar feelings he had when Charlie spent time with others, was just because she was a dear friend and he didn’t look forward to the day they’d have to move on from their lives and separate. He didn’t like that thought at all… But once they got rid of the Decepticons, the humans would no doubt rebuilt their world, Charlie would find someone-someone human. And as for Bumblebee, he’d either go with the Autobots if they left or stay behind and watch Charlie move on.

_And I’ll be happy for her. Sad but happy, she deserves it… And she’s not in love with me, Cade’s wrong. Which is fine, I care about her, but I’m not in love either. So everything just_ fine.

Bumblebee nodded as if his inner thoughts had solved anything, ignoring the tingly of doubt that clung to his spark.

 

.

 

Starscream was just about to go and patrol the base when Skywarp popped in front of him so suddenly both Cons jumped back in shock.

“What are you-” Starscream began then let out a hiss, “Skywarp, it’s just you.”

“Screamer, don’t do that!” Skywarp yelled, clutching his chest. “You scared the bolts off of me!”

“It is Lord Starscream for the _thousandth_  time,” the leader snarled. “And you should have a better control on where you teleport.” He looked to the jet’s hands and glowered.

“Wh-what?” Skywarp stammered, catching his look.

“Those are pretty empty hands considering they were suppose to carry either the head of an Autobot or the human with the AllSpark.”

“Ah…yes,” Skywarp began. “About that… So, the good news is I did find her! I think I even found her hideout! The bad news is I can’t fight a whole group of Autobots by myself.”

Before Starscream could reply a new voice spoke up: “That’s why you are bringing allies next time.”

Starscream whirled around to see Shockwave marching into the room. Looking at the glimmer in his red eye Starscream felt a pit in his chest, his plans falling away.

“If you can relocate the AllSpark girl’s hideout,” Shockwave continued, “Then I, Dropkick, even Lord Starscream, we can all handle the rest.”

Skywarp looked to Starscream with a torn expression, he knew this was going against his leader’s plan but he also knew now was the time to keep his mouth shut.

Starscream stepped foward, “Now, Shockwave, it’s unlike you to be so hasty. We can’t just blindly attack the Autobots, especially not with Optimus leading them.”

“Careful, Lord Starscream,” Shockwave’s voice carried a new tone, one that was heavy with threat. “Keep not wanting to fetch the AllSpark, and someone might think you don’t want to revive Megatron to his former glory.”

Starscream narrowed his optics. Shockwave could care less who was leading the Decpeticons, all he wanted was the girl. He probably already had a thousands planned experiments in his head, just for her.

And if Shockwave didn’t get what he wanted, he’d find a way to back Starscream into a corner, he’d have the Decepticons turning on him. The leader who didn’t want to rule under the ‘mighty arm’ of Lord Megatron.

“Don’t be a fool,” Starscream smiled sweetly. “Reviving our former leader is all I want.”

 


	32. Chapter 32

Charlie stood next to Cade. The skeleton of the Alcatraz prison gave them a patch of the roof to stand on and keep watch. Something only Charlie was doing at the moment.

Earlier that day the Autobots had spotted smoke in the distance, Prime had wanted to investigate it, assuming it was Cons, hoping it was an Autobot who had heard their distress signal. It had been several days since Skywarp’s threat and this was the first time they had seen anything even remotely Decepticon.

Despite the reluctance to leave the Sanctuary Ratchet convinced Prime that only the two would go and investigate. It made Charlie a little nervous but they still had four Autobots.

At least until Burns went over to the Bots and announced that Reggie’s leg injury had become infected, and if they didn’t find the necessary supplies, Sally couldn’t save it. There was also the fact that their food supply was dangerously low.

The four had spent a few minutes talking about the best course of action. With Prime investigating what may or not be Cons, and bringing in the fact Skywarp only knew that their base was _near_ the Headlands, they decided Ironhide and Wheeljack would accompany the soldiers, leaving Bumblebee and Arcee to look after the island.

“If you see anything suspicious keep yourselves and the humans hidden,” Ironhide ordered the two smaller robots. “We won’t be long.”

“Don’t worry, Ironhide,” Arcee smirked at him. “We can both put up a fair fight.”

Now Charlie stood watch, Bumblebee and Arcee on the other side of the water, pacing near the deck. Once in a while Arcee leaned forward and told him something. Charlie wondered if they could fill the tension in the air.

She looked up at the gray sky, there was a very faint breeze but other than that, the world was quiet. Too quiet. Even the survivors on the island were indoors, either tending to Reggie or rationing the food supplies.

“I got a bad feeling, Cade,” Charlie admitted.

The young man was sitting by her feet, examining the small handgun Lennox had gifted to him. “That bad feeling is called having common sense, Charles.”

She frowned down at him, “You think something bad is going to happen?”

“More I _assume_ since humanity has kind of run out of luck since our planet got taken over by alien robots. And now that there’s only you, me, Bumbles, and the pretty robot protecting the island-I imagine today is the day the Cons finally show their faces.”  

Charlie swallowed. That would be just their luck, she knew Bumblebee was a skilled fighter but still…the memory of him fighting those three robots on the bridge and nearly dying…that filled her with a sense of anxiety. She tried to take comfort in the fact he had friends like Arcee to help him fight, and she also hoped that the Cons wouldn’t come in large numbers.

 _I guess it depends how much they want me…_ Charlie shuddered, she still couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact the Decepticons specifically wanted _her_.  

“But don’t worry, kiddo,” Cade assured, having caught her shiver. He jumped to his feet and lightly patted the duffel bag that was by his side. “I have plenty of homemade bombs to blow those Terminator wannabes sky high.”

“Homemade bombs, huh?” Charlie echoed, glancing at the bag. She took a step away. “Great.”

 

.

 

Bumblebee stood next to Arcee, his circuits tensed, wishing Ironhide or Prime would return. He felt so exposed with only himself and Arcee watching over Charlie and the others.

Not that he didn’t trust his friend’s fighting skill. But he knew that once the Decepticons arrived, their would be many.

 _Why_ haven’t _they showed up yet..._ Skywarp had to have returned to wherever Starscream was hiding. They should have returned to take Charlie.

Try _to take her_ , Bee thought with an inner growl.

“I hope they get back soon,” Arcee voiced his concerns. “I don’t like how quiet it is. It feels like we’re waiting on a ticking time bomb.” She looked over at Bumblebee with a frown then glanced toward the island. “Do you think we should swim back to be closer to the humans?”

Bumblebee liked the idea, especially since he could make out Charlie and Cade standing watch on the island. But if the Decepticons did arrive before the others returned he and Arcee would be forced to fight them with the humans right under their feet. He gave a small shake of his head, best to try and keep them away from the island and trust Charlie to get the humans into hiding.

Arcee sighed, her shoulders sagging, but nodded. “You know, we haven’t had a chance to really talk since we’ve arrived. I wanted to tell you that I’m proud of you, Bumblebee.”

His optics widened. What had he done that was so special?

“Despite the odds being against you you’ve really gone far,” Arcee explained. “Arriving on a foreign planet infested with Decepticons, you survived and protected the organics of this planet. And you even found the AllSpark and kept it close.” She smiled warmly, “Even Optimus Prime would have had difficulty doing that. You’ve come far from the bumbling Academy student I’ve meant all that time ago.”

Bumblebee felt warmth spread throughout his metallic skin, flattered his friend thought so highly of him, especially when he had spent so much time thinking so highly of her.

 _When she says it like that…I sound more impressive than I feel. Is that how Optimus and the others think of me?_ He looked toward the island. _I hope I live up to how they all see me._

 

.

 

Optimus and Ratchet came to a halt.

The smoke trail they had followed came from a large, burning vehicle, the metal blackened. Ratchet narrowed his optics before he let out a grunt of disgust.

“There are organics in that vehicle.”

Optimus had already seen him, and his spark ached at the charred bodies inside the vehicle, innocent humans that had needed their help. He wondered if they had been alive before the fire had consumed them. Had they been long dead or had their been a chance to safe them?

How many humans have died because they were waiting for the Decepticons to arrive at the Sanctuary?

Ratchet looked around the area, they were surrounded by the remains of taller buildings, it almost felt…like a cage.

The same thought came to the two Autobots and they exchanged a disturbed look.

“Do you think-”

“We need to get back to the Sanctuary.”

 

Optimus turned on his heel, ready to bolt back to the island, when he heard the sound of air splitting. Optimus pushed Ratchet out of the way just before a blast of energy hit the ground the two Autobots had been standing just moments before. They whirled around to see a familiar figure walking toward them with a confident gait.

“Is that-” Ratchet gasped.

_Soundwave!_

“It’s a trap! _Run_!”

 

.

 

Burns was shoving the medicine into the back pack, desperate to return to the Sanctuary before Reggie ran out of time.

But just as he was heading out of the island Ironhide’s hand was there, pushing him back inside.

“What is it?” Burns demanded.

Lennox and Epps, carrying their own bags of supplies, hurried over to him. “What’s wrong?” Epps asked.

Ironhide was leering over the small pharmacy, his eyes on the sky ahead of them. A few paces away was Wheeljack, standing stock still.

Burns was about to repeat his question when a noise hit his ears, making his stomach drop. _A jet!_

Two shapes shot through the sky, a jet and a helicopter. But even though they were in a clear line of sight the two Decepticons passed the Autobots, making a straight line for…

“ _THE SANCTUARY_!” Ironhide let out a hiss of panic. “We need to get back _NOW_!”  

 

.

 

Bumblebee had fought many different battles, they had required many different strategies, some had been won, some had been lost. But they had all started more or less the same way.

Suddenly.

One moment he was walking next to Arcee, keeping his optic out on the island, just able to make out Charlie’s figure keeping watch-and then a large shape barreled into him, knocking him to the gravel.

_Skywarp!_

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Autobot,” the jet snarled gleefully, pinning the smaller bot down.

“Get away from him!” Arcee screeched, bolting toward them. But before she reached her friend a red blur cut between them, blocking Bumblebee from Arcee’s sight.

“Where’s your great and mighty leader, Arcee?” the red femme bot said snidely.

“ _Shatter!_ " Arcee growled, lunging at her enemy.

Bumblebee’s face was buried into the gravel before he saw the two start to fight, but he could hear the grappling and firing of the two femme bots as he struggled under Skywarp’s greater weight.

But then a new, calmer voice, spoke up.

“Keep these two busy,” Starscream said smoothly, a dark threat oozing from his words. “I’ll get the girl.”

_CHARLIE!_

 

.

 

Before Skywarp had even slammed Bumblebee to the ground Charlie was racing back down to get to the survivors.

“Get underground!” she screeched, panic tightening her chest. “Everyone get underground _now_!”

The quiet atmosphere was replaced by cries of terror as people burst out of their shelters and headed for the inside of the building, down to the hideaway the Autobots had built for them.

Charlie looked through the crowd, trying to ignore the wide eyes that were filled with trauma. She spotted her mother and Ron trying to help Reggie into the building. But the man’s greater weight and injury made them go at an agonizingly slow pace.

“Cade!” Charlie turned to the man who had followed her down. “Go help Ron get Reggie to safety!”

“But I-”

“Just do it!” They didn’t have time to play heroes. They needed everyone to be safe first. “And tell my mom to hurry and get to the hide out. We need someone to do a head count!” She ran past the crowd, catching the sight of one of the children, Lucy, hugging the building with tears in her eyes as people ran past, too terrified to notice the child.

Charlie hurried to her side, “Where’s your mom?!” She picked Lucy up before she could answer, hurrying back to the building and rushing inside. To her relief she saw Lucy’s mother waiting at the entrance, her horrified expression melting into relief when she saw her daughter.

“Hurry and get to my mom,” Charlie ordered the woman, depositing Lucy into her arms.

They two had just vanished into safety when a voice in the crowd shrieked: “ONE’S COMING HERE! ONE’S COMING HERE!”

Charlie ran out to the building’s entrance to see a familiar jet hurrying toward the island. Behind him Charlie could see Bumblebee and Arcee in the throes of battle with Skywarp and another Decepticon she didn’t know.

 _Prime, get back here_ please, Charlie begged in her mind as fear made her blood turn cold. She glanced behind her, not everyone had gotten underground yet, and if the jet saw her go in after them…

“Charlie! What the _hell_ are you doing!?” Cade called out from the back of the group, having come out after depositing Reggie.

“I have no idea!” Charlie screeched as she raced across the ground, away from the safety of the large building and the underground hide out, she weaved between the shacks and tents that had been set up on the island. She knew this was probably the dumbest thing she had ever done-but with a Decepticon so close the hide out the Autobots made suddenly didn’t seem so safe.

 _Besides, they want me, not them._ She couldn’t risk her family and the survivors’ lives.

With a yelp she fell to her knees as the earth suddenly shook, announcing that the Decepticon had landed.

Charlie scrambled into the shade of the nearest shack as a voice reached her ears, the metallic accent of the jet-speaking perfect English: “I do not have time to play hide and seek with you, human.” The voice sounded weirdly familiar, and she realized it was the same Decepticon who had grabbed her after she had found the AllSpark, the first time she heard them speak English. That felt like it had happened years ago but unfortunately Charlie’s fear was still fresh and left her shivering as she hid.

Then she heard a new noise-a growling, and then the sound of something heavy landing on the ground. The Con spoke again, this time in Cybertronian and while Charlie didn’t know what he said, she knew it wasn’t anything good.

Charlie tried to swallow-couldn’t-and desperately looked around. She didn’t know if she should find a new place to hide or stay put, she didn’t even know what that growling was. Her eyes warily looked up at the sky, wondering if the growler could fly.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when the fighting from the mainland suddenly grew louder. She snapped her head around to see the familiar shapes of Ironhide and Wheeljack running toward Bumblebee and Arcee, up in the air above them flew two new Decepticons. There was a rumble and the jet that was searching for her was flying back to the others, no doubt to help his allies fight her friends.

 _Please be safe_ , she prayed silently, wishing Optimus and Ratchet would return. But Charlie was realizing this had been a trap, they had wanted as many Autobots away as possible before they came for her. Ironhide and Wheeljack were quick to return, but that still left them outnumbered.

The crackle of gravel brought Charlie back to the island and she looked around frantically, her breath catching when she saw the shadow of a feline shape on the other side of the shack. Trying to keep herself from shaking she quietly stood up and, with painfully silent steps, started to back away to the other side of the shack.

Whatever the creature was, it was still growling, and she could hear it’s slow purposeful footsteps. Charlie was starting to wish that jet had stayed to hunt for her instead.

But then-

“Charlie!”

She turned around, her face twisted in horror, as Cade ran into the clearing, his stupid bag flung over his shoulder.

A dark shape rushed out from the other side of the shack and Charlie had to cover her mouth to keep from crying out. The creature came to a stop before Cade who had gone stock still-looking more in disbelief then terrified.

This…creature, was like a panther, it had the body shape and and posture of a jungle cat, but it was also a robot and had the malicious eyes of a beast not of this world.

It snarled hungrily at Cade who still didn’t look as terrified as he should have been, more confused-even irritated. That did nothing to keep Charlie’s heart from pounding out of her ribcage.

“Charlie…” Cade spoke up, taking a step back.

At the mention of her name the cat sharply turned its head around to stare directly at Charlie and for just a second, she wanted to kill Cade.

“Did I take something or is there a giant robot cat in front of us?” Cade continued as if he didn’t notice how much danger his friend was in.

Charlie started to back away, the robot, just as slowly, started to stalk toward her. “Cade,” she hissed through her teeth, scared any sudden movement would make it lunge. “Please just shoot it.”

“Oh, right,” Cade pulled out the small hand gun and aimed it at the robot. Instantly it swung around with a roar and jumped at the man.

“Cade!” she shrieked, her heart jumping up into her throat.

The man was knocked down, the cat pinning him to the ground, but Cade managed to shove the gun into the robot’s open maw and pulled the trigger. The shot ringing and the cat shook its head with a disgusted snarl.

“Cade!” Charlie called out again, looking around the ground for a weapon.

“Stop saying my name and _run_!”

The cat, apparently understanding their words, jumped off Cade and snarled at her. That was enough for Charlie to turn on her heel and and bolted.

 

.

 

“I must say, you’ve gotten worse, B-127.”

Bumblebee glared up at Thundercracker before kicking the jet away, his circuits ached and his vision was fuzzy thanks to Skywarp’s tackling. But the Decepitcons weren’t any closer to being beaten, his friends fighting by his side.

 _Optimus, where are you?_ Bumblebee wondered in a panic as he aimed a blast at Dropkick who had jumped onto Wheeljack’s back, trying to knock him down as he fought Skywarp.

Arcee was still grappling with Shatter, and Ironhide had put it upon himself to take down Starscream. Bumblebee had been relieved to not see Charlie in the Con’s grip. But he knew that Starscream wouldn’t just leave her, especially when there had been no Autobot to stop him. He needed to get to her.

Thundercracker lunged at him once again and the two bots fell to the ground, grappling as Bumblebee tried to pin the Con down. But in his current shape, not to mention how much bigger the jet was, Bumblebee was finding it impossible.

“Wait, Thundercracker,” Dropkick suddenly appeared next to them. Bumblebee glanced over to Wheeljack, he was still standing but Skywarp was clearly winning the fight.

“What?” Thundercracker snapped, keeping the bot pinned down.

“I want to be the one to blow his head off,” Dropkick explained, a demented excitement in his remaining optic. “Then I can what’s left of him to his little pet before we do the same to her.”

 _Oh no you won’t!_ Bumblebee forced himself to go limp, feigning defeat. The trick worked on Thundercracker who relaxed his grip, just a bit, but enough for Bumblebee to slip out of the Con’s grip. He fired a blast at Thundercracker, hitting his shoulder before driving off to put distance between him and Dropkick.

Thundercracker had fallen to his knees at the blast, cradling his shoulder while Dropkick rushed toward the Autobot.

“Don’t you run away from me coward, I’ll-”

Dropkick’s violent-thirsty gaze went past Bumblebee, to stare at something over his head with a look of fear. Something not common, but welcome.

A shadow fell over Bumblebee and he looked up-and could have sagged with relief-Optimus had returned.

The Autobot leader was covered in scratches, blue liquid dripping off his chest and arms, his optics burning with fury. Behind him stood Ratchet, who didn’t look any better than his leader but looked even more ready to crush Dropkick’s head.

The medic caught Bumblebee’s look, “Don’t get too excited. Shockwave and Soundwave are right behind us. We had to spar with them for a few kliks before we could get back to you.”

“Where are the humans?” Prime demanded as Dropkick wisely moved back to join his comrades ranks, with the exception of Thundercracker they had yet to notice Optimus’s arrival.

Bumblebee stood up to nod toward the water bank. Burns, Lennox, and Epps were using their jeep as cover as they shot bullets at Shatter who fought Arcee nearby. Anytime the femme bot turned to attack the soldiers, it gave Arcee the time to get the upper hand.

Optimus looked to the soldiers and then back to Bumblebee, “Is Charlie still on the island? You need to get there and keep her safe, we’re outnumbered and with Starscream, Shockwave, and Soundwave here…they don’t plan to leave empty-handed.”

 _I’ll rip their sparks out if they get anywhere near her_ , Bumblebee thought darkly before he turned, ready to get to his friend and keep her safe-at whatever the cost.

 

.

 

Charlie ducked through a window, falling to the cracked wooden floor of the shed, right before long claws filled the square space. The paws scratched frantically, leaving long grooves in the old wood as the cat tried to break through and get her.

“ _Stay away from me_!” she shrieked, frantically kicking at the paws.

But then Cade’s voice spoke up, with a loud “Batter up!” there was a small moment of silent, and then the noise of an explosion and the cat let out a shrill shriek of pain. It pulled itself out of the window and Charlie stood up to see it gallop away.

Peering through the window she saw Cade standing a few feet away, a piece of pipe in his hand and a smug smirk as he watched the cat run off.

“Did you-did you use one of your bombs as a baseball?” she asked, incredulous.

“Yep,” he replied. “It hit that cat and boom! Left it literally smoking.”

“How did you know it wouldn’t explode once you hit it?!”

“I didn’t,” Cade said, sounding way too proud of himself considering he could have just blown his own face off. “Now can we _please_ get to the hide out?”

“I can’t,” she began, “We need to keep-”

The jet returned, slamming into the ground and making Charlie and Cade’s legs shake. The Decepticon looked over his shoulder to the battle, his eyes narrowed and he almost seemed frantic. But Charlie’s view of the mainland was blocked and instead she grabbed Cade’s arm and led him inside the shack.

“Doesn’t that guy ever give up?” Cade demanded under his breath as they hid in the dimness of the shack.

Charlie just shook her head and squeezed his arm, silently begging him not to say more. They could hear the Con’s massive footprints, followed by a growling-the cat.

“What happened to you?” the jet demanded, not sounding at all sympathetic for the wounded creature. “You let a couple of humans get the better of you? Soundwave will be ashamed.”

His only response was a less than pleased snarl.

The jet moved on, “Where is the girl? We need to take her _now_!”

Charlie and Cade held their breath as quiet follows, a quiet that didn’t last nearly long enough.

Cade pulled Charlie down as the shack was knocked aside, splintering into a million pieces that rained down on the two as they tried to cover their heads.

Charlie peeked through her hair and saw the jet looking down at them with an unreadable expression, but when his eyes met her’s-they were less than friendly.

The Con stretched his arm out, ready to grab her. But before Charlie could make her shaking legs move, a familiar yellow shape slammed into the jet-knocking him across the ground.

“ _Bumblebee_!” she cried out in relief. But the Autobot didn’t even glance at her, already in a furious fight with the Decepticon as they shot and punched at each other, knocking miscellaneous crowd of shelters down.

“Move, _move_!” Cade nearly pulled Charlie’s arm out of its socket as he dragged her out of the way right before Bumblebee fell on the remains of the shack.

“We need to get to the hide out!” Cade yanked her to her feet, but before they could move the robotic cat jumped out of nowhere, snarling menacingly and swiping at them. The two broke apart but not before the claws sliced through Charlie’s shirt, breaking her skin.

She let out a cry of pain as she stumbled to her knees, clutching the wound. _That’s gonna take a while to heal._

The cat, now looking much more gleeful with blood on its claws, stalked toward her. If it had had a tongue, Charlie imagined it licking its chops.

“Hey, pussy-cat!” Cade’s voice suddenly yelled, accompanied by a small ding as a tiny round object hit the cat’s leg and rolled to the ground by its paw.

Charlie and the cat looked to Cade whose arm was still stretched out from the throw, his frown disappointed. “Huh, I guess that was didn’t-”

_Boom!_

To Charlie’s fortune, the explosion was small, but still managed to set the cat ablaze. The creature shrieked and jumped back, clawing at the dying flames.

Charlie glared at Cade, “You didn’t know that wouldn’t kill me you psychopath!”

“Insult me later, let’s run!” Cade ordered, rushing over and once again pulling Charlie to her feet.

Together the two booked it. Putting distance between them and the burning cat wasn’t difficult, but Bumblebee’s battle was determined to destroy what was left of the Sanctuary. They had nearly gotten crushed twice before Charlie realized where Cade was taking her.

Right before they ran into the old building to reach the hide out, Charlie snatched her hand away from Cade and hid in the shadow of the building. “I can’t go in there with the others!”

Cade scowled at her, “That’s the whole point of building it!”

“What if one of the Cons find it? I can’t let you and my family and friends get killed because they’re looking for me!”

“If the Autobots can take the risk, so can we!”

Starscream slammed Bumblebee into the building, sending bricks showering down. Cade ducked into the building to avoid the debris, Charlie turned around just as Starscream reached for her.

 

.

 

Bumblebee pushed through the pain and grabbed Starscream’s arm right before he grabbed Charlie. Using his shoulder he pushed the the Con leader away from his friend, once again sending them rolling across the ground (if he never rolled on the ground with a Con again, it would be too soon). But as Starscream forced them to a stop Bumblebee wasn’t done, rage still blistering through his body. How _dare_ he had tried to touch his friend. He sent a blast right at Starscream’s chest, slicing across the metal and sending him several feet back, right to the edge of the water. Bracing himself to have water in his circuits, the Autobot slammed into Starscream, sending them both into the water.

Through the murky depths Bumblebee and Starscream struggled, the Con slicing his claws against Bumblebee’s face. Bumblebee returned the favor with his fists, pressing the con’s face into the sandy ground. But Bumblebee, being so focused on crushing Starscream’s head, didn’t catch the con lifting his arm until a burning pain hit his side.

The Autobot broke away from his enemy who immediately up and out of the water.

He tried to follow, but a spot of blue caught the corner of his optic. The shot from Starscream leaving an energon-leaking wound on his side. Covering the wound Bumblebee tried to collect his strength and swim upward, but the wariness of the fighting was starting to weigh down on his limbs.

 _I have to get back up there_ , he told his sluggish body. _I don’t care what happens to me, I need to protect Charlie._

Staring up at the surface, Bumblebee’s optics widened when he saw a splash, and then a small figure swimming down to him.

 _Charlie_ … A strange sense of relief fell over him when he recognized her and her optics lit up when she saw him.

Bumblebee reached his hand out to her, catching her and pulling her close to him. Charlie held out her arms and held Bumblebee’s face in her palms and placed her forehead against his own. Instantly warmth embraced him and his pains vanished, the wound on his side knitting itself back together.

They held each other close for a moment longer than needed before Bumblebee pulled away, still holding Charlie he swam up to the surface. She let out a large gasp of air once they broke the surface.

“I never told you,” she said after a few moments of breathing. “I’m sort of a diving champion.”

 _I have no idea what you’re saying, I’m just glad you’re okay_ , Bumblebee thought happily, keeping his hand on her back to keep her afloat.

A sudden scream made them look toward the mainland. Starscream had joined Shockwave in fighting Optimus, seeing the Autobot struggle made Bee’s spark panic.

“We don’t have time to swim back to the island,” Charlie said. “Just take me to the mainland I’ll hide!”

Bumblebee hesitated, but Shockwave slammed a blow into Prime, nearly sending the bot to his knees and the scout knew he needed to help his leader _now_.

Making it to the mainland, Bumblebee left Charlie under the care of Burns and the other soldiers and raced to Optimus’s side, shooting rapid-fire at Shockwave who was startled by the attack.

“Don’t you ever _quit_?!” Starscream hissed in fury, his body still damp from the water as he dodged Bumblebee’s fire.

The yellow bot pressed his back against Optimus, helping keep Shockwave and Starscream at bay.

“We need to turn the tide in this fight,” Optimus said, despite the uneven fight his voice was still strong and commanding. “Is Charlie safe?”

 _I hope so_ , Bumblebee thought warily, glancing toward the jeep where the soldiers were. He didn’t see Charlie, she was keeping herself hidden. Looking around the battlefield he saw Arcee and Ironhide were fighting Shatter and Dropkick, Ratchet and Wheeljack battling Skywarp and Soundwave.

_Where’s Thundercracker!?_

Bumblebee tried not to panic at the lack of the Seeker, maybe he had been beaten while Bumblebee was fighting in the Sanctuary. Maybe he had retreated, as unlikely as Bumblebee believed that.

He risked the moment to glance toward the island, but before he could get a good look Starscream was in front of him, snarling and smacking the Autobot with a force that sent him several feet away.

 _I think he’s upset with me_ , Bumblebee thought, half-joking. Thanks to Charlie healing him, he had a much easier time returning to his feet. But Starscream’s optics weren’t on him anymore, they were on the jeep that was several feet away. Bumblebee could just make out a flash of brown hair.

Burns had noticed Starscream’s glare and pushed Charlie behind him, his gun aimed at the jet. Starscream moved to lunge at the humans, Bumblebee tried to rush him but Optimus was quicker, grabbing him from behind.

“Charlie, run!” Optimus called before Starscream slammed his head into Prime’s face plate. It stunned the Autobot long enough for him to escape his grip and deliver a kick, knocking the heavily wounded Prime to his knees.

“Optimus!” Charlie cried out, trying to rush past Burns who grabbed her arm, stopping her.

Bumblebee turned to look at her, trying to figure out if he should get Charlie away or help Optimus face Starscream. He took an uncertain step forward-

-a sudden pain hit him. Bumblebee blinked, his mind much more sluggish than what it was a few kliks ago. His optics went back to Charlie, and it took him a moment to register the horror that was on her face as she and soldiers stared at him.

Following their gazes he looked down-and saw a blade piercing through his chest.

_Oh…_

Shockwave pulled the blade out through the Autobot’s back, and the lack of support brought Bumblebee to his knees.

 _Was that…my spark…_  His mind was fuzzy as he tried to figure out the damage. The hole in his chest leaked energon and he had the sense his spark was…flickering…

He once again looked up at Charlie, who was struggling out of Burns’ grip. She broke free and was bolting toward Bumblebee, tears streaking down her face, her hand outstretched to him.

 _Oh, so that’s it…_ he realized, lifting a shaky hand out to meet her. His vision was starting to fade, and every moment he had been on Earth was flashing through his mind. He thought of the first hug, the first dance, the smiles, the way Charlie’s optics seemed to sparkle when she looked at him…the way his spark danced when _he_  looked at _her_.

Bumblebee’s body fell, his hand falling as Charlie ran to him. His vision was growing darker, and darker, and he had one more thought, one more realization: _So that’s it…I’m in love with her._

Everything went black.

 

.

 

“ _Bumblebee_!” Charlie screamed out, reached out to the Autobot as he fell to the ground. She just needed to get to him, she could heal him and he’d be just fi-

Fingers wrapped around her waist and she was lifted off the ground, away from her friend, as the jet flew up above the ground. “No, no, no, no, _nonono_!”

“Quiet!” he snarled, tightening his grip on her waist. He called down to the fighting robots. “Decepticons! It’s time to retreat!”

A second later the one-eyed Con, the one who had stabbed Bumblebee, stood before a blueish portal. Through the tears in her eyes she saw the Cons retreat into the portal. The jet holding her flew down to follow and once again Charlie frantically tried to break out of his grip, looking down at Bumblebee as the Autobots surrounded him.

“Put me down!” she screeched at the Con, “ _Put me down_!”

Ironhide rushed after Charlie and the Con, but he wasn’t fast enough.

The last thing Charlie saw was Bumblebee’s motionless body before she entered the portal and the world went white.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not to pour salt on the wound but I’m going on a break from this fic to give my time to other projects.   
> Consider this a season 1 finale, season 2 will appear some time in the future.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Season 2 is here! And it opens with a downer, I'm sorry. But stick with it things (eventually) get better.

Cade had been trying to outmaneuver the robot cat when it finally got the upper hand on him.

Knocking into the human it’s claws sliced through his bag strap, sending his bag of miniature bombs several feet away.

The breath was knocked out of Cade when he hit the ground, the cat’s much greater weight pinning him down. It’s claws dug into his arms and legs, easily breaking the skin.

Cade bit his tongue to keep from crying out in pain and quickly tasted blood.

_Well, I had a good life, Cade thought to himself. Actually no I’m going to die by a metal cat when I could have died by a giant robt. This sucks. Why did I get the short end of this world-ending stick? I always thought I’d be a bigger piece of this robot war puzzle, like I’d truly help them fight, maybe even be…a knight! …Nah, that’s stupid._

Cade started, realizing fangs hadn’t ripped out his throat yet. Looking up he saw the cat still standing on top of him, claws wet with his blood, but its eyes on something else.

The man turned his head and his eyes widened when he saw what the cat was staring at. The survivors, at least some of them, storming toward Cade with makeshift weapons of bats and crowbars being waved madly around. Someone even threw an empty can at the cat’s head.

“Stay away from him!” yelled someone from the oncoming crowd.

“Get off our island!”

“We’ll turn you into car parts!”

The beast snarled, looking ready to attack its assailants. Cade wished his arms didn’t look like hamburger meat, otherwise he could _really_ use that hand gun. But just as it looked ready to leap its body suddenly went tense, head shooting up and its red eyes moving to the mainland where the larger battle was still being fought.

Before the crowd couch reach it the cat jumped away, running straight into the water and swimming back to the mainland.

Some of the crowd had stopped to stare in surprise at the fleeing cat while the rest rushed to Cade’s side to help him sit up and staunch his bleeding wounds.

“Well, that was anti-climatic,” Cade couldn’t help but point out.

“Anti-climatic?!” Ron, crouched by his shoulder, stared at him in disbelief. “You nearly got your limbs torn off.”

“Yeah…” Cade said simply.

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure I’m dying.”

“Then how are you so-nevermind.” Ron took off his thin plaid jacket and wrapped it around one of his arms, the man on Cade’s opposite side did the same.

_Aw man, I’d feel bad for bleeding all over their clothes if you didn’t have such awful taste in fashion…_ Cade blinked, feeling dizzy. _Yeah the blood loss is getting to me I’m usually so much nicer._

A new, much younger voice spoke up, “I brought this bat for nothing.”

Cade, through dizzy vision saw Charlie’s kid brother appear from the crowd, brandishing a metal bat and disappointed expression.

“Otis!” Ron gasped, his eyes looking as if they’d fall out of his head. “I told you to stay with your mother!”

The young boy showed no guilt when he answered, “Mom’s busy keeping everyone calm, and if you and Charlie get to help the Autobots then so do I! Wheeljack is my friend!”

Ron’s defeated sigh left hot breath on Cade’s neck before he and the other survivors helped to carry Cade off to the side in the shade of a nearby shed. But Otis stayed put, glaring out to the mainland that had gone uncomfortably quiet. But it was all Cade could do to keep his eyes open, his vision going fuzzy.

He was watching his bleeding legs get wrapped up, Ron talking in his ear, trying to keep him conscious, when a scream split the air. Cade’s blood ran cold as he heard Otis shout, “That was Charlie!”

Cade barely had time to process the boy’s words before a shadow fell over Otis, adrenaline shot through Cade as he saw one of the Decepticons land, look around at the huddled, stone still humans…and snatched up Otis.

“No! No, _no_!” Cade jerks to his feet only to crash down onto his chest, pain lacerating through his limbs.

Ron and the rest of the group rushed to the edge of the island but it was pointless. The Decepticon, with Otis struggling in its grip, was already reaching the mainland where a blue circle had suddenly appeared. The Con and it’s friends vanished inside, leaving the Autobots surronding a yellow shape that was sprawled on the ground.

“ _No, no, no, NO!_ ”

 

.

 

The last time Charlie had felt this painful, hollow, pit in her chest, her dad had died. It had been the scariest thing she had ever felt, giant robots attacking her town included, and she would do anything to not have to feel that again.

So she pushed Bu-she pushed what had happened, to the back of her mind and focused on her rage and her need to escape as the jet flew through the portal. It was a split second, a world of blue and static that danced through her hair, and then she was suddenly hovering over a vast desert, heat burning into her skin.

“Let go of me!” she screeched, thrashing wildly as the jet held her in his firm grip.

His red eyes were down at the portal as the rest of the Decepticons filed through, it vanished as a jet that looked similar to her captor flew to the ground, clutching his fist to his chest. Charlie took a dark moment of glee to see how worn and torn the Cons looked, Optimus and the others definitely put up a fight. Especially Bum-

_Don’t think about that don’t think about that._

“Why’d you make us run, Starscream!?” that blue bastard yelled up at the jet. Charlie resisted a smirk to see he still only had one eye. “We had them!”

“We _have_ what we needed,” Starscream growled, holding her out for the crimson eyes to stare hungrily at her. Charlie fought a shudder, feeling naked.

One of the cons stepped forward, his one red eye looking up at Starscream and Charlie fought back the tightness in his throat. That was the robot who-Charlie shook her head and turned her head to glare up at the jet-at _Starscream_.

“I’d let me go if I were you!” she snarled, making sure her voice was loud enough for all of them to hear. “Once Optimus gets here he’ll rip your guts out!”

There were several dark chuckles from below her feet, she heard one speak-the jet that had tried to grab her at Cade’s old home. “Not if he doesn’t have a space bridge!”

_Space bridge?_  Charlie looked around, an almost overwhelming sense of loss washing over her. Where the hell did they take her?

“Bring her to me, Starscream,” the bulky one eyed Con ordered. “I want to see her up close and personal.”

“One moment, Shockwave.” Starscream replied coolly.

_Shockwave_ , the name felt like bile against her ears but Charlie knew she would remember it.

But thoughts of the Con that did… _that_ , left her mind when the grip around her waist suddenly got uncomfortably tight. She looked up to Starscream to realize he had brought his hand closer to his face, the glare of his eyes, casting a scarlet glow across her skin. Charlie tried to repress the shiver that went up her back and pulled a scowl onto her face. She opened her mouth, planning every insult in mind, but then he spoke:

“You had every opportunity.”

Her brow furrowed. What was he talking about?

“You could have stayed away from the AllSpark,” he growled, too low for the Cons down below to hear. “You could have disappeared on this backwater planet. You could have stayed under the Autobots’ ‘protective’ shadow. But no, you went and chose every bad decesion and now _I_ have to suffer for it.”

_What the_ hell _is he talking about?_ Charlie hadn’t the faintest idea why he wasn’t ecstatic to have the AllSpark back, and she didn’t know how he expected her to not get caught when the Cons were incredibly determined. But she didn’t voice her confusion.

Instead her face showed mock sympathy, “Poor little baby.”

And then Starscream dropped her.

It happened so suddenly that for a few moments Charlie didn’t process that she was rocketing to the earth. But then she felt the wind slice against her skin and pull at her hair, her eyes watered as the cons below grew bigger and bigger as the ground got closer and closer.

_Will the AllSpark fix me if I break every bone on landing?_ She wondered, trying to keep the panic from setting in. She scrunched her eyes shut, a part of her hoping she’d die on impact, if just so the Decepticons couldn’t use her to get to the AllSpark.

But just as she expected to hit the ground, her chest slammed into a plate of metal and her eyes flung open as the breath was knocked out of her body.

Wheezing, she looked up to see it was Shockwave who had caught her, his clawlike fingers slowly wrapping around her as he gazed up at Starscream. The jet was descending, taking his sweet time.

_He could have killed me_ , even her inner voice sounded winded.

“You could have killed her!” snapped the red Con with the female voice, unknowingly echoing Charlie’s thoughts.

But Starscream met her scowl with a cool look. “I was teaching her respect,” he replied silkily. “This little girl needs to understand she’s under our care and…mercy. Besides, I trust everyone’s reflexes. I knew one of you would catch her before she hit became a puddle on the ground.

“What an interesting tactic, Starscream,” Shockwave replied in an odd tone of voice and Charlie could feel the tension in the air as the two Decepticons exchanged an unreadable look.

Finally catching her breath, the ache in her ribs fading, Charlie suddenly felt a wave of revulsion as she realized she was in the hands that had ki-that had done things that she didn’t need to think about at this moment.

“Don’t touch me,” she growled, her voice rising as she started to struggle. “LET ME GO! _LET ME GO_!”

Shockwave gave her a dismissive glance before turning back to the Decepticons. All of them weren’t paying attention to her struggles, except for one. The jet that had been the last one to come through the portal was looking at her with an unreadable expression, his fist still clutched to his chest. The moment their eyes locked he turned away.

“Lord Starscream,” he spoke up, his voice softer than the other Decepticons, as he walked over to him. “I know it wasn’t part of the plan but I-”

“ _Why did you grab another one_?”

The teleporting jet’s gobsmacked question sent Charlie’s heart falling into her stomach.

_Oh no, oh God, please no!_

“Thundercracker,” Starscream’s voice was soft but didn’t carry the slightest hint of reassurance. “What is this?”

Otis sat trembling in Thundercracker’s hand, his large eyes staring up at the Cons but not making a noise.

“I went to find the human on that island,” Thundercracker explained. “I thought she was still there, but then I heard this one call her name.” He looked down at Otis, “He called her Charlie and I thought they were close so maybe we could use this one-”

“As leverage.”

Charlie looked up at Shockwave who had spoken, his one eye not on Thundercracker or Otis but on herself. Charlie inwardly shuddered, he must have seen her expression when she saw Otis. The Con knew how important he was to her.

“That might be a good idea, Thundercracker,” Shockwave contiuned. “You can put him in the farm, let’s get back to the base.”

Starscream rushed forward to stand in front of Shockwave, not bothering to mask his anger. “ _I_ will be giving the orders, Shockwave.”

The one-eyed Con was silent for so long Charlie had thought he wouldn’t answer, but then, “Of course… Lord Starscream.”

 

.

 

The Decepticon base was gigantic and clearly alien. It was smack in the middle of a vast and lifeless desert. But what Charlie found more disturbing was the small collection of tiny houses in the shadow of the base, guarded by two Decepticons.

Thundercracker walked past Shockwave to place Otis in the middle of the houses where, to Charlie’s horror, several humans appeared to greet him. Charlie moved to call out for her brother but her captors were already walking into the base.

The hallways were brightly lit and the cold air sent goosebumps across her arms. A rising sense of fear started to choke her. Of course, she had been scared the minute the Decepticons attacked the Autobots, but when the base doors closed behind them, she felt an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. Death was waiting in these halls.

Shockwave walked into a room that felt like it had come straight out of a science fiction horror film.

It was a large room, plenty of space for the other Decepticons to follow him inside. There was a bare examination table and numerous unidentified objects hanging on the walls. Charlie’s fear skyrocketed when he saw how _sharp_ they were.

Shockwave placed her ungraciously on the table before walking away to a corner of the room. Charlie sat up, not trusting her shaking legs to hold her up.

A shadow fell over her and she looked up to see the blue Con leering over her, his remaining eye alit with twisted glee.

“Are you going to dissect her, Shockwave?” he asked, not looking away from Charlie. “I can help.”

Shockwave didn’t answer but the blue bot didn’t seem to care, instead moving his face incredibly close to Charlie. She imagined if he had fangs he would bare them.

“Dropkick,” Starscream’s voice was a warning.

“What, Screamer? I’m not gonna hurt her. Yet.”

Dropkick lifted his hand, his fingers hovering over Charlie’s arm, probably fantasying about breaking her arm.

“Enjoy using that AllSpark as a shield while you still can, human. When Shockwave doesn’t need you anymore, I’m going to enjoy learning about your anatomy as I pull your bones out of your skin.”

Charlie glared silently, hating the shudders that were wracking her body. But she didn’t want to risk upsetting Dropkick more, he didn’t strike her as someone who followed orders and-if he was angry-wouldn’t wait to turn her into paste. _Just stay quiet, Charlie, don’t do any-_

Dropkick’s evil smile widened, “ _Your little yellow Autobot can’t save you this time_.”

Something snapped in Charlie’s mind and any sense of self-preservation left her brain. Pulling up into her full height she spat on Dropkick, making the Con let out a snarl of disgust and back away.

“I didn’t need _anybody’s_ help to destroy your eye you blue bastard! Come near me again and I’ll finish what I started!”

Dropkick was furiously wiping at his face, and the other Decepticons were either staring at Charlie in shock or stepping closer to Dropkick in case he planned to lung at her.

And they were right, Dropkick turned to her with a look of hatred that nearly shriveled her burst of courage. “I’M GONNA-”

The red bot and Thundercracker grabbed him before he could reach her, struggling to hold him in place. Charlie only scowled at him, refusing to show any regret for what she had done.

“Starscream.” Shockwave’s voice sliced through the air and even made Dropkick stop to look at him. The bulky Decepticon turned to the jet, “If… _I_ was leader, I’d have better control of my soldiers. After all, we can’t afford to lose the AllSpark’s power when it’s in such a-” Shockwave glanced at Charlie, “Delicate state.”

Starscream’s face was unreadable as he slowly looked to the red robot. “Shatter, you and Dropkick leave. Go and patrol.”

Shatter looked less than pleased, “Lord Starscream, I-”

“Get,” the jet hissed, “Out.”

There was a moment’s hesitation before she nodded and dragged Dropkick out of the room.

That left Charlie with Starscream, Shockwave, Thundercracker, and two other Decepticons whose names she didn’t know (not that she cared to learn any of their names). One being that teleporting jet who was quietly standing in a corner, looking as if he was watching his favorite soap opera. The other Con was had a red visor where his eyes should have been, and although he had not made a single sound this entire time, the air around him was thick with threat.

“Good,” Shockwave spoke, walking over to Charlie. “Now we can start.”

Charlie moved to turn her scowl on him only to suddenly be pushed onto the surface of the examination style, the cold steel biting into her back.

Shockwave held her down easily with the tip of his fingers pressed against her limbs. The other Decepticons, with the exception of Thundercracker, walked over to surround the table.

“Are you going to take some of her energon,” the teleporting jet asked excitedly.

“No, Skywarp,” Shockwave replied. Charlie wasn’t sure but she could have sworn she heard a hint of glee in his voice. “I thought that for a such a unique human, I’d use a data-collecting method that’s overdue.”

Charlie had been struggling since Shockwave had pinned her down but her limbs turned to ice when she saw what Shockwave had in his other hand.

It was like something she’d seen in a movie like _Alien_. It was a green, slug-like creature, slimy and as long as her forearm. It swiveled wildly in the robot’s grip.

Starscream and Skywarp shared a look of revulsion when they saw the slithering creature. “That’s such an ancient method,” the former commented.

“Yes, but it’s effective. It will absorb her DNA and then I can cut it open and see what we have to work with,” Shockwave answered simply.

_Absorb my DNA?_  Charlie didn’t like the sound of that and she started to viscously struggle again as Shockwave lowered his hand.

“Don’t-” she breathed, turned her head away as the slug came closer. “Please don’t! _Don’t_ -”

Her plea fell on death ears as suddenly Shockwave released the slug and it immediately slithered to her face. She locked her jaw but the slug wasn’t deterred and slipped through her nostrils.

Her body started to rigidly jerk as a foreign pain danced across her nerves. Revulsion sliced against her throat and she longed to vomit, but the thing that she needed to puke out she could feel- going down her throat, her chest, her stomach. It rolled around inside her body and it felt like it was tearing off pieces of her organs. Somehow it felt like it even climbed through her arms and legs, leaving her bones covered in slime. Her body continually jerked up and her vision was blurry with tears and all she could see was the glowing eyes of the Decepticons that looked on in either apathy or a twisted interest.

It felt like ages but it was actually only a few agonizing seconds until the pain became unbearable and she opened her mouth, quietly begging her enemies to help her, begged for the AllSpark to save her, begged for Bumblebee.

Suddenly the disgust rose all the way back to her throat and she felt slime against her teeth as the slug dragged its way out of her mouth, death to her broken, ragged sobs.

When it was completely out Shockwave picked it up and released her. Charlie forced herself onto her stomach, lifting herself up on shaking arms as she gagged and gagged, the only thing coming up was her crumbling resolve. Her body felt so disturbingly hollow, violated, and she couldn’t bear to meet any of the Decepticons’ eyes. Her ringing ears vaguely heard Shockwave mention the Farm but she couldn’t bring herself to fully listen.

Too tired to try to hack up that empty feeling Charlie fell to her side, curled into herself, and cried.

That slug didn’t just take away bits of her DNA but also her courage and determination. The fear and hopelessness and grief was drowning her. She was alone, Otis had been captured and Bumblebee…

_He’s dead, I wasn’t there to heal him! He’s gone I’ll never get to see him again, I’ll never see my mother again, I’ll die here. I failed_ everyone _!_

Something touched her shoulder and she flinched, pulling herself into a tighter curl and sobbing even harder.

“Here,” a soft voice reached her ears, it was Thundercracker. “I’m going to take you to that other little human.”

_Otis_. He would take her to her brother.

Thundercracker cradled her in hands that were nothing like Starscream or Shockwave. He kept murmuring quietly though she couldn’t make out the words. At least it didn’t shred her spirit any harder. She continued to cry as she laid in his hands, pouring out every horrible, terrible thing that had happened to her so-when Thundercracker finally, gently, placed her down, she felt empty and numb.

“Charlie!”

With an effort she pulled herself up. She was in the middle of that small collection of houses she had seen earlier, this was the ‘Farm’. Thundercracker was already walking away and Otis was rushing toward her, several humans standing several feet away and watching with mixtures of surprise and pity.

Charlie opened her arms and Otis jumped into her embrace. She buried he damp face into his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she breathed, not just to him, but to everyone. “I’m so sorry.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	34. Chapter 34

Starscream’s body was burning with rage. His glare focused on the Farm where the humans had huddled around the AllSpark girl- _Charlie_. Besides his anger he was also in disbelief. He was finally the leader of the Decepticons, he had led an easy triumph over an entire planet! How could such a helpless, pathetic, _insignificant_ pest ruin it all by simply not dying. 

  
He had ordered Thundercracker and Skywarp to him and the two seekers stood behind him, quiet. Even Skywarp could sense the fiery tension surrounding his leader.

   
“We need to get rid of her,” Starscream finally breathed, surprised steam didn’t froth from his mouth.

  
“Okay, okay,” Skywarp replied, walking over to stand by him. “Now when you say get rid of her, do you mean kill her or just, throw her through a space bridge? We can do either.” 

  
“No,” Thundercracker’s voice, tame, spoke up. “We can’t.” 

  
Starscream’s head snapped around to glower at his subordinate. “Your fondness for these organics will be your downfall, Thundercracker.”

   
“I’m not fond of them!” Thundercracker insisted. “But Starscream, you tried to kill her as soon as we escaped the Autobots. The other Cons might have believed that you were just scaring her. But Shockwave didn’t. If something happens to that human he’s going to find a way to turn the others against you. She’s the _AllSpark_ they’re not just going to let this slide.” 

  
Starscream marched over to stand above the jet, “Then what do _you_ suggest, Thundercracker? Do you _want_ to be back under Megatron’s rule? Cause that is what is going to happen if we don’t do something!” 

  
“I-” Thundercracker stuttered. “I don’t know. I just know you’re suspect number one if something happens to her.” 

  
Skywarp walked over and casually put himself between the two. “Thundercracker has a point, Screamer.”

  
_“Lord. Starscream._ ”

  
“Thundercracker has a point, Lord Starscream,” he continued. “And say we do get rid of her, there goes the AllSpark. And don’t we want the AllSpark?”

  
Starscream would never admit it but Skywarp had a point. If he killed Charlie, that would assure Megatron would be dead. But that would also assure he could never return to and revive Cybertron. And then he’d be stuck on this disgusting planet for eternity. 

  
“We don’t even know if she can revive Megatron,” Thundercracker added. “And with Shockwave having to run his tests, we can bide our time. Let’s just wait and see what opportunities will find us.”  

.

Charlie woke up with her entire body aching. For a moment she was lost, unsure where she was. It was a small cabin, with just a table and the hard bed she was lying on. 

  
Then she saw Otis sitting on the foot of the bed, his eyes closed as she leaned against the wall. 

  
All of Charlie’s memories rushed back, the battle, the slug, _Bumblebee_ , and she threw herself practically off the bad, gagging wildly. It still felt like the slug’s residue was in her mouth and dripping from her bones. 

  
Otis, who had immediately shot up when his sister woke up, reached forward and patted her back. “It’s okay,” he murmured like he was the older sibling. “Hold on, I’ll get Tabitha.”

  
Charlie, catching her breath, reached out for her brother but he was already running out of the cabin. She tried to stand up to follow but her legs were shaking and she had no choice but to lie back down. 

  
It was only a few minutes before Otis returned, followed by three people.

  
The first was a tall woman who radiated authority and seriousness, the girl (who looked around Otis’ age) behind her must have been her daughter, they looked so alike. And they reminded Charlie of…someone.

  
Behind them the man was shorter but built, a baby girl in his arms and his eyes narrowed suspiciously when he looked at Charlie.

  
“It’s alright,” the tall woman assured Charlie, walking forward. 

  
She forced herself to sit up as the woman knelt before her, placing a hand on Charlie’s forehead. Charlie could have wilted, relieved to have an adult here who took charge.

  
“You’re Tabitha?” she asked, Charlie could barely recognize her own voice, it was so hoarse. 

  
She nodded, a soft smile pulling up her lips. “And you’re Charlie. Otis told us everything about you.”

  
“Sounds like your the answers to those robots’ prayers,” the man commented, taking the one chair that was next to the desk. His daughter snuggled deeper into his chest, deep in sleep.  

  
Charlie turned to her brother, “You told them about the AllSpark?”

  
He shrugged helplessly, “I didn’t know what else to do. I panicked!”

  
But Otis didn’t know what these humans would do to her, it sounded like the man considered her an ally of the Decepticons. 

  
“Don’t be upset with him,” Tabitha sat next to Charlie. “But his stories were…quite interesting.”

  
The younger girl stepped forward, “He said there were good robots. Ones that fight these…what did you call them, Otis?”

  
“Decepticons,” Charlie answered. “And there are good robots, we’re friends with them. They’re called Autobots.”

  
“So it’s true,” the man spoke up. “Our planet-we-are caught up in some ancient alien robot war.” 

  
Charlie nodded and the man swore under his breath, shaking his head and turning away from the group. 

  
“What-what are you all doing here?” Charlie asked Tabitha. “What do the Cons want from you? Where even are we?”

  
A heaviness filled the air following her questions. The man still wasn’t looking at her and Tabitha’s friendly eyes seemed to darken.  
It was the girl who spoke, “To answer where we are: we’re in Australia.”

  
Charlie’s head whipped around to stare at her. That…was not one of the places she had expected the Cons to make base. “We-we are?”

  
“That’s what people told us when we arrived. Me and Caly-” she nodded to her daughter- “Are from America. Same as Colin and his baby girl, Mikaela.”

   
Charlie looked them over once more, before bringing up the other questions, “Why are you here?”

  
“We were taken,” Tabitha explained. “Every human here was kidnapped when the robots first invaded. And they-” Tabitha stopped, her hand covering her mouth and her eyes turning glassy. Caly hurried over to sit by her mother’s other side, wrapping her arms around her.

  
“We’re lab rats,” Colin’s deadpan voice brought a shudder down Charlie’s back.

  
The man sat up and, carefully, placed his snoozing baby on the bed. Then he stepped back and lifted up his shirt to show his side, and a horrifically long scar across his abdomen. “They stole humans from every corner of the world so they could experiment on us. The ones outside, and us, we’re the lucky ones. There have been people, men, women and children, who walked into that base and never came back out.” 

  
“Oh my God,” Charlie breathed. She had thought the Decepticons couldn’t be more evil. 

  
Colin let his shirt fall back to cover the scar, and shrugged. “On the bright side, if _you_ are some big deal to those walking washing machines-they’ll probably not need us anymore.”

   
“Your brother said you can heal these robots,” Tabitha spoke up again, her arm wrapped protectively around her daughter’s shoulder. 

  
“I can,” Charlie said, pushing back the thought of Bumblebee and how she wasn’t there to heal him. “Though I think they want to use me as a weapon, not a doctor… But whatever they end up doing with me, it won’t be good for any of us.”

  
“A few of the people here, after hearing Otis’ story, were hoping they’d let us go now that they have you,” Caly admitted. Charlie didn’t miss the mildly guilty look of hope in her eyes.

  
But Colin was shaking his head, “They aren’t just going to let us go, kid. And even if they did…then what? We’d be stranded in a desert, with no supplies unless that Thunderguy throws us one more bone.”

  
His words had Charlie’s brow furrow, “Thunderguy? Are you talking about Thundercracker?”

  
“I don’t bother remembering the names of my captors,” Colin said, sending her an almost venomous look. Clearly he didn’t think knowing the Cons’ by name was a trustworthy feature. “But I guess that’s him.”

  
“He drops supplies here every now and then,” Caly explained. “He’s the only one that seems not to be completely disgusted by us.”

  
“Which isn’t saying much, considering he stands by and let’s that one Con…do all those things to us.” Colin added in again. Charlie was getting the feeling he found talking theraputic. But she couldn’t blame him, she glanced over at Mikaela. She reminded her so much of Sam and the thought of what Shockwave or Starscream could do to her made Charlie sick.

   
“So, Charlie,” Otis finally spoke up, having been quiet this entire time. “What’s the plan?”

  
“Plan?”

  
Tabitha gave her a sympathetic smile, “Otis told us you would find some way for us to escape, or to have your robot friends find us.” It was obvious she didn’t believe Otis, and Charlie wasn’t here to change her mind.

  
“Otis,” Charlie slowly stood up, her legs shaking slightly. “I don’t have a plan.”

  
“Not yet, but you’ll get something,” Otis said. “And even if you don’t, Bumblebee will-”

  
“ _Bumblebee_ …is gone.” Her throat closed and her vision started to go blurring. “He’s gone, and there’s no way for us to get out or to contact Optimus and we can’t-” She looked around the room, not wanting to break down in front of these strangers. Especially when Colin clearly thought so little of her. “I need-I need a moment.” She marched out of the cabin before anyone could stop her.

  
Outside the temperate was unbearably hot, and strangers were walking around with slow defeated steps. Charlie only felt worse when she saw them, there were two toddlers sitting next to their mother who was dead eyed. Did they have a father? What happened to him? 

  
She saw elderly people, sitting in the shade, a man with no leg. Did he lose it before or after the Decepticons?

  
She rushed behind the cabin before anyone could notice her. If Otis really had sung her praise, she couldn’t bear anyone to look at her like she could save them. 

  
Away from any eyes she sat down and buried her face in her knees with her arms wrapped around her legs. 

  
The quiet was almost a relief. Charlie tried to summon up more tears but they had all been shed. She was as empty as she felt. 

  
She tried to imagine what would happen to her, to everyone, next. Shockwave would probably find some way to extract the AllSpark and then she’d be dead. And as Colin had said, any way they got rid of these innocent people, they wouldn’t live through it. Her brother, Tabitha, Mikaela, they needed a hero. They needed Optimus…they needed Bumblebee…they needed an Autobot…but all they had was her.

  
She didn’t know how much time had passed as she sat with the silence. More than once her mind went back to Bumblebee, trying to hold on to the hope that he was okay, but then the fight replayed in her head again and she curled deeper into herself. Her heart no longer hurt though…it had gone numb.

  
…Charlie’s head slowly lifted up but there was no where there. She could have sworn she had heard someone calling her name. She hid her face away from the sun again, deciding it wasn’t surprising she was hearing things.

   
She closed her eyes, and in the darkness, it came again. 

  
It was a whisper, a whisper of millions of voices, chanting her name. It sounded so deliciously encouraging, and the vision of a familiar red robot flashed through her mind.

  
_Cliffjumper!_

  
Her body seemed to lock into place and for a moment she could barely breathe. Her heart was pounding in her ears and the echoes almost seemed metallic, reminding her that while she felt like a human, she was something else. Something…more. 

  
And then, as if the AllSpark, as if Cliffjumper, was pulling her mind to it: she started to think of what the Cybertronians saw when they looked at her.

   
She could remember the awe and confusion in the Autobots’ eyes. She could remember the hostility and even…fear in the Decepticons. She remembered the open adoration in Bumblebee’s eyes…every time he had looked at her, even before he knew about the AllSpark.

  
The awe…the fear…they didn’t see a human when they looked at her. Charlie’s head pulled up and she gazed up at the dimming sky. They didn’t see a human, they saw the AllSpark. They saw hope…and a threat. She stood up, her legs feeling more sturdy. The Autobots, the humans, they saw her as something that could help them. The Decepticons did too, but they also saw something that could be an enemy. And she was definitely their enemy. 

  
And when Bumblebee saw her…he saw someone who wouldn’t give up. At least, she hoped he had. She wanted to be that…for him. Someone who didn’t give up, who stayed strong to the very end. 

  
Like he had. 

  
Charlie looked up at the base that loomed over them like a predator. Charlie’s eyes narrowed and her fists clenched. If they were going to kill her anyway, she was going to die with a legacy. 


End file.
